MILITARY TROOPS RESCUE ABDUCTED LIEUTENANT COLONEL AND CIVILIAN AFTER 10-DAY MANHUNT IN ENUGU

Joint security forces comprising personnel of the Nigerian Army and Navy have successfully rescued a senior military officer, Lt.-Col. Ofor Amobi, alongside a civilian, Mr. Ikechukwu Onwuanra, following a high-stakes 10-day search-and-rescue operation in Enugu State.

​According to an official military operational report released on Saturday, August 1, 2026, the rescue was accomplished in the early hours of Friday by troops of Sector 1, Operation UDO KA. The operation brought together personnel from the 82 Division Garrison, 103 Battalion (Reinforced), the 197 Special Forces Battalion, and the Nigerian Navy Special Boat Service.

​The tactical search focused on dense forest tracts and agrarian communities, including Inyi, Awlaw, and Akpugo-Eze within Oji River Local Government Area of Enugu State. Led by the Commander of the 82 Division Garrison, security forces maintained unrelenting pressure on the criminal hideouts.

​A critical breakthrough occurred around 2:00 a.m. on Friday after troops received actionable intelligence from the Divisional Police Officer of the Inyi Division regarding the location of the captives. A rapid fighting patrol dispatched to the area discovered the two victims abandoned near the edge of a forest in Inyi along the Enugu–Anambra border.

​Preliminary reports indicate that the victims had been blindfolded and moved through several locations before their abductors were forced to abandon them due to closing military patrols. Both Lt.-Col. Amobi and Mr. Onwuanra, who sustained gunshot wounds during their captivity, were immediately evacuated to the 82 Division Medical Hospital for emergency care and medical evaluation. Military authorities confirmed that further operations are ongoing to track down and apprehend the fleeing kidnappers.