Four Days On, 20 Corps Members Remain In Kidnappers’ Captivity

•Security Forces Halt Raid Over IED Threat At Suspected Camp

•Parents Turn To Prayer As Kidnappers Slash Ransom To N5m Per Victim

•Sowore Demands NYSC Suspension, Proposes State-Based National Service

Four days after 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members were abducted in Imo State, security agencies have yet to secure their release, as an alleged threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) has delayed a planned assault on the kidnappers’ hideout.

The victims were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when gunmen attacked two buses on the Owerri-Onitsha Road in the Umunoha area of Imo State on Thursday.

While the police initially gave varying figures on the number of people abducted and rescued, the Defence Headquarters later confirmed that 20 passengers, including prospective corps members, were abducted, while 10 others were rescued.

The development has left families of the corps members in anguish, with some parents turning to prayer while others struggle to raise the ransom demanded by the kidnappers.

The kidnappers initially demanded N50 million for each victim, amounting to N1 billion for the 20 abducted persons, but later reduced the demand to N5 million per victim.

A relative of one of the victims, Alhaja Alimot Akande, whose 25-year-old sister, Kehinde Akande, is among those held, said the kidnappers had continued to beat the victims.

“They are still demanding N5 million. They have come down to N5 million each,” Akande said when asked about the latest ransom demand.

Asked if the demand applied to all 20 victims, she replied: “Yes.”

Akande appealed to the government to intervene, saying the families were struggling to secure the release of their loved ones.

“Sir, we appeal to the government to please assist us in getting them rescued out of that place. When I spoke to my sister, they started beating them since yesterday,” she said.

“They are not sparing anybody. They are beating all of them.”

She added that the families had been unable to determine how much money had been raised towards the ransom.

“I cannot say because I do not know how much they have told those people that they have,” Akande stated.

According to her, the police had advised the families to continue buying time while efforts were made to secure the victims’ release.

“The police are telling us to still be buying time. We are still looking for the money. Depending, they will see them rescued,” she said.

One of the abducted prospective corps members was reportedly allowed to speak with his father while the kidnappers monitored the conversation to assess the family’s ability to raise the ransom.

The situation has also driven some parents to seek divine intervention.

The mother of one of the victims told Sunday PUNCH that she was on a prayer mountain while members of the family continued efforts to raise the ransom.

“I’m currently on a prayer mountain, praying for his release, while the family has been running helter-skelter to raise the money,” she said.

She, however, maintained that prospective corps members should not be prevented from serving outside their states because of the incident.

“We cannot stop our children from going to serve in other states; it is part of the adventure. But the security of the lives of citizens is the responsibility of the government,” the mother stated.

Meanwhile, security agencies said they had located the suspected kidnappers’ camp but could not immediately move against the occupants because of intelligence suggesting that the area had been mined with IEDs.

The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso, said operatives had used drones to track the suspects to a particular location.

“Any moment, we’ll still move into the bush. Yesterday, we were in the bush, we trailed them up to a particular location,” Bosso said.

“But at that point in time, we couldn’t move in to where the coordinate showed us they are because we ran drones yesterday. And the drone actually showed us exactly their location.”

He explained that the reported explosives had forced the security agencies to adopt a more cautious approach.

“But our predicament is that with the intel we have, the camp is mined with IEDs,” the commissioner stated.

Bosso said security forces were preparing to deploy heavy equipment and armoured vehicles to gain access to the area.

“We are moving in there with high-velocity vehicles, that is, bulldozers. We’re moving in with bulldozers and APCs to see how we’re going to rescue these victims unhurt,” he added.

The police spokesman, Henry Okoye, also said operatives were closing in on the kidnappers and had been briefed on the latest developments.

The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, had deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Nadada, alongside two commissioners of police, to strengthen the operation in Imo State.

Nadada arrived in the state on Friday and reviewed the personnel, operational strategy and available assets deployed for the rescue effort.

In Oyo State, the government said it was working with the Imo State Government and security agencies to secure the victims’ release.

The Oyo State Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, said the state was drawing on its experience from a previous kidnapping incident in Oriire Local Government Area.

“We are in close contacts at government-to-government level and actively with the security apparatus in Oyo and Imo states,” Oyelade said.

“We are volunteering our template and experiences garnered during the Oriire kidnapping, and the report of the Judicial Inquiry just submitted last week by the Hon. Justice (Professor) Mojeed Owoade Panel is coming in handy in our bilateral discussions on the matter.”

He said the state government was reluctant to disclose details of its ongoing efforts because of the sensitivity of the operation.

“Governments all over the world are not in the habit of disclosing all they are planning in delicate situations like this,” Oyelade noted.

He, however, shifted the focus to the Federal Government, saying national security remained its responsibility.

“The pushback should be on the Federal Government and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, who are in charge of national security, on what they have done in 72 hours,” he said.

Oyelade assured the families that the Oyo State Government would continue working for the victims’ release.

“Oyo State Government had not and will not abandon its citizens. We will continue to work endlessly and desperately to secure the release of our children,” he stated.

The development has also raised questions about the circumstances surrounding the abduction.

Parents of the victims said about 30 passengers were travelling in the two buses, with 10 escaping into the bush while 20 were taken hostage. They disputed the earlier police description of 10 passengers as having been “rescued”.

The parents said they first learnt about the incident through a social media post made by one of the escapees. They also accused the transport company, Uko Akwa Ibom Motors, of refusing to release the passenger manifest and produce the drivers who escaped the attack.

“We have asked them to produce the drivers of the two vehicles who managed to escape the attacks, but they declined as well,” one of the parents said.

The buses had left Bodija/Samonda Park in Ibadan on Wednesday, heading towards orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom. The journey was reportedly delayed by traffic around Benin, forcing the passengers to reach the Onitsha axis late and spend the night there.

They resumed the journey at about 5am on Thursday but were attacked shortly after entering Imo State. The drivers reportedly escaped and alerted security personnel at a nearby checkpoint.

The parents later visited the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, at his Bodija residence, accompanied by the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, and the Aseyin of Iseyinland, Oba Sefiu Adeyeri.

They appealed to Ladoja for assistance, saying the initial N50 million ransom demanded for each victim was beyond the capacity of the families.

“They have been calling us since yesterday (Friday) with a demand of N50 million ransom each. They are threatening that anything untoward will happen to our children if we fail to heed to their request,” the parents said.

“There is no way we can raise such an amount at this period. Baba, kindly assist us. Don’t let them kill our children.”

Ladoja assured the parents that efforts would be made to secure the victims’ safe return.

“I want to assure that your children would be rescued unharmed. We will relate whatever information we gather to you,” the Olubadan said.

“The police are working round the clock to secure their rescue. Don’t worry yourself, police are up to the task, and nothing would happen to your children.”

The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Abimbola, also said he had maintained contact with his Imo counterpart since the incident.

“I had already contacted Imo State CP. We have been talking since the day of incident, and he assured me that the victims would be rescued unhurt,” he said.

The abduction has meanwhile renewed calls for a review of the NYSC scheme, with the African Action Congress presidential candidate for the 2027 election, Omoyele Sowore, demanding its immediate suspension and eventual scrapping.

Sowore argued that compulsory deployment of young Nigerians to states far from their homes had become increasingly risky in the face of worsening insecurity.

He described the scheme as having “outlived its usefulness in its present form” and proposed a temporary state-of-origin service arrangement pending the establishment of a new voluntary National Job Corps.

Under his proposal, the replacement programme would focus on employment, skills development, public works, technology, agriculture, healthcare and education.

The latest abduction has therefore placed renewed pressure on security agencies to rescue the 20 prospective corps members safely, while families continue to seek help and raise funds for the reduced ransom.