The Department of State Services has rescued 25 children abducted by gunmen in Sabon Layi community of Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State.
The children were handed over to the Plateau State Government on Saturday in Jos.
The Secretary to the State Government, Samuel Jatau, received the victims on behalf of the government.
He said the children were kidnapped on December 21, 2025, at about 7:00 p.m. while travelling for a Maulud celebration.
“If you recall, on Dec. 21, 2025, 25 children were kidnapped in Sabon Layi area of Wase,” Jatau said.
He explained that the kidnappers disguised as vigilantes and mounted a fake checkpoint on the road.
“They were travelling as a group for Maulud celebration, and this group of kidnappers pretended to be vigilantes on the road,” he said.
“As they stopped for the normal checks and discussions, it happened that they were kidnappers.”
According to him, the gunmen took the children to an unknown location before security agencies launched a search operation.
“They kidnapped the victims to an unknown destination, but the security agencies, particularly the DSS, launched a manhunt and rescued all the children unhurt,” Jatau added.
He disclosed that three of the children had earlier escaped from the kidnappers before the rescue operation.
The SSG thanked the DSS for what he described as a successful operation and timely intervention.
Jatau said the rescued children included six females and 19 males.
He added that all the victims had undergone medical checks and were certified fit to return to their families.
The rescue operation has brought relief to residents of the community, who had been anxious since the abduction.
