IG Deploys DIG Over Imo Abduction

Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu has deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Nadada, alongside two Commissioners of Police, to Imo State to coordinate intensified efforts to rescue 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps members and other passengers abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha Road.

The victims were abducted on Thursday, October 1, 2026, around Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State after gunmen reportedly intercepted two commercial buses travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, towards NYSC orientation camps in the South-East and South-South.

The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Anietie Iniedu, disclosed the deployment in a statement issued on Friday, saying Nadada arrived in Imo with two Commissioners of Police and immediately conducted an on-the-spot assessment of the incident and the ongoing rescue operation.

The senior police officer reviewed the operational strategy, personnel deployment and available operational assets before issuing further directives to strengthen the coordinated response to the abduction.

The assessment involved the Imo State Commissioner of Police, CP Audu Garba Bosso, the Commissioner of Police in charge of Federal Operations, CP Akpan Anifiok, the Commissioner of Police in charge of the Police Mobile Force, other security commanders and members of the Imo State Police Command management team.

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Iniedu said additional tactical teams and operational assets had been deployed to identified locations as the police intensified the search for the victims and their abductors.

He added that the operation was being supported by intelligence-led tracking of the suspects and coordination with other security agencies involved in the rescue effort.

Nadada assured Nigerians that the police would sustain the operation until the abducted persons were safely recovered, stressing that the safe rescue of the victims remained the priority of the security operation.

“The Nigeria Police Force is committed to securing the safe rescue of the 20 abducted persons and will sustain the operation until the mission is successfully concluded,” Iniedu quoted Nadada as saying.

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The police have also appealed to members of the public to remain calm and vigilant while urging anyone with credible information that could assist the rescue operation to contact the police or the nearest security formation.

The Force assured members of the public that information supplied to the security agencies would be treated with strict confidentiality.

The incident has caused anxiety among families of prospective corps members from Oyo State who were travelling to various orientation camps at the start of the new NYSC mobilisation cycle.

Reports indicate that the two buses were travelling from Ibadan to Uyo in Akwa Ibom State and Bende in Abia State when they were intercepted near Umunoha early on October 1.

There has been some variation in reports over the precise number of people taken during the attack, with police sources initially saying that the exact number of abducted passengers was still being established while confirming that 20 prospective corps members were among those affected.

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A subsequent police account reported that 10 victims had been rescued and that both buses had been recovered, while security agencies continued efforts to locate the remaining abducted persons and apprehend the perpetrators.

The Imo incident has renewed concerns about the security of young Nigerians travelling long distances to NYSC orientation camps, particularly after other prospective corps members were targeted during journeys to their camps in different parts of the country.

The latest police deployment therefore places the DIG Operations at the centre of the ongoing response, with additional tactical personnel, intelligence resources and inter-agency coordination now being used to locate the victims and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Further updates are expected from the Nigeria Police Force as the search-and-rescue operation continues.

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