NYSC Kidnap: Abductors Give 24-Hour Ultimatum

The parents of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps members from Oyo State abducted in Imo State have said their captors gave them 24 hours to raise N1bn for the release of their children.

The parents disclosed the ransom demand on Saturday when they visited the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, at his private residence in Bodija, Ibadan, alongside the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, and the Aseyin of Iseyinland, Oba Sefiu Adeyeri.

The prospective corps members were travelling from Ibadan to their NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when gunmen attacked two buses along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Imo State on Thursday.

The buses had departed from the Bodija/Samonda area of Ibadan on Wednesday but encountered delays caused by heavy traffic around Benin, Edo State, before eventually reaching the Onitsha area later that day.

According to the transport company, the passengers and drivers spent the night in Oba because of the condition of the road before continuing their journey towards Imo State early Thursday morning.

The attack occurred around the Umunoha area of Imo State when gunmen reportedly emerged from the bush, blocked the buses and forced a number of passengers into the surrounding bush.

The exact number of people abducted has been subject to differing reports, as the Imo State Police Command initially said 10 victims had been rescued and that the number still in captivity was being verified.

A later military account stated that 20 people were abducted from the two buses and that 10 passengers, including eight identified prospective corps members, had been rescued unharmed.

The parents who met with the Olubadan said the abductors had contacted them through the mobile phones of some of the kidnapped prospective corps members and demanded N50m for each victim.

The individual demand of N50m for 20 victims amounts to N1bn, according to the latest account from the affected families.

The parents said the abductors threatened that the victims could be harmed if the ransom demand was not met within the stipulated period.

Speaking on behalf of the affected families, Alhaja Akande and Oyebola Akande appealed to the Olubadan and security authorities to intervene because the families could not raise the amount demanded by the kidnappers.

The parents urged the authorities to prioritise the safe recovery of the victims, who were travelling to begin their mandatory national service when the attack occurred.

Responding to the appeal, Oba Ladoja assured the families that efforts were underway to secure the victims’ release unharmed and promised that information obtained through the rescue effort would be communicated to them.

The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, said he had been in contact with his Imo State counterpart over the incident and that the police were working towards securing the victims’ safe release.

The Imo State Police Command has also confirmed that security agencies launched coordinated search-and-rescue operations after the attack, with intelligence-led tracking deployed to locate the abductors.

The latest development came after the Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Garba Bosso, disclosed that security operatives had located the suspected camp where some of the remaining victims were being held with the assistance of drones.

Bosso said the planned operation against the suspected kidnappers had been delayed because intelligence indicated that improvised explosive devices had been planted around the camp.

The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has meanwhile deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Nadada, to Imo State to coordinate the search-and-rescue operation.

Additional tactical teams and operational resources have also been deployed as security agencies continue intelligence-led efforts to locate the abductors and rescue those still in captivity.

The incident has renewed concerns about the safety of prospective corps members who travel long distances to NYSC orientation camps, particularly along highways where previous abductions have also been reported.

The latest account from the affected families puts the ransom demand at N1bn for 20 victims, although earlier reports had placed the number of abducted passengers at 19 and the total ransom demand at N950m while security agencies continued to verify the figures.

As of Saturday, the authorities had not disclosed any payment of ransom, while security agencies continued efforts to secure the safe release of the remaining victims and apprehend those responsible for the attack.

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