LAGOS, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian troops have rescued 30 people after repelling a group of armed bandits from a road in Nigeria's northern state of Kaduna, the army said Thursday.
Musa Yahaya, a spokesman for the army, said in a statement a team of army troops on a patrol on Thursday engaged the bandits along a road near the Manini village in the Birnin Gwari local government area of the state when the bandits intended to kidnap commuters along the road.
The troops overpowered the bandits during a gun battle, thereby "forcing the criminals to withdraw in disarray" and leading to the rescue, said Yahaya.
After the gun battle, the troops also recovered two motorcycles and immediately cleared the road for free flow of vehicular traffic, said the spokesman, adding the rescued victims were escorted by the troops to a safe place to continue their journey.
Armed attacks have been a primary security threat in some regions of Nigeria, leading to deaths and kidnappings in recent months. ■