The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso, said operatives have located the camp where abducted prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members are being held. However, explosives have been planted at the site.
The 20 victims were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom States. Gunmen attacked two buses in the Umunoha area of Imo State on Thursday.
Bosso said on Saturday that police had tracked the group to a location in the bush. They could not advance because intelligence indicated the camp was mined with explosives.
“Yesterday we were in the bush; we trailed them up to a particular location. But at that point in time, we couldn’t move in to where the coordinates showed us where they are,” he said.
Drone surveillance helped operatives pinpoint the location. However, the improvised explosive devices posed an obstacle to the rescue operation.
“The drone actually showed us exactly their location. But our predicament is that with the intel we have, the IEDs, the camp is mined with IEDs,” Bosso said.
He said police were deploying vehicles, bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers. “We are moving with bulldozers and APCs,” he said, adding that the goal was to rescue the victims unhurt.
DIG Deployed as Police Reinforce Rescue Operation
The Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Umar Nadada, was deployed to Imo State by Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu. He is coordinating the rescue.
Nadada assured families that security agencies were working to secure the victims’ safe release. He asked them to cooperate with operatives.
“Definitely, let them be rest assured that they are going to be rescued safely. They should cooperate with us. I know it’s difficult, particularly for the parents of the victims,” he said. “I know what they are feeling, but they should work with the security agencies.”
The commissioner said an investigation had commenced. However, he declined to identify those responsible beyond describing them as unknown gunmen.
Nadada added that the Inspector-General of Police had directed the deployment of additional operational assets and tactical teams. These will reinforce personnel already on the ground.
“So definitely we are working hard to ensure that all those victims are rescued,” he said.
Families Face ₦50m Ransom Demand Per Victim
Meanwhile, families of the victims have been receiving ransom demands. The reported demands have deepened the anxiety of relatives of the missing graduates.
Some parents who spoke to Channels Television appealed to both the state and federal government for aid. They said they are helpless in the face of the kidnappers’ demands.
Olawale Olaleke said his son was posted to Abia State to serve. He was kidnapped before he reached his destination.
Another parent, Olawale Olalere, narrated his ordeal with tears in his eyes. He called on Governor Seyi Makinde and President Bola Tinubu to come to their rescue.
“The vehicle took off from Samonda and slept in Onitsha, from where they took off the following morning, and just as they got to Owerri in Imo State, we heard they had been kidnapped,” he said.
“This morning, when they confirmed that they have been kidnapped, they’re already demanding ₦50 million naira on each victim.”
Mrs Oladosu said her daughter, Greatness, was travelling to Uyo when she was abducted. The kidnappers briefly contacted the family through her daughter’s phone.
They allowed the family to see Greatness and other victims during a video call.
She said the victims were sitting on the ground in the bush and crying. “Where will petty traders get ₦50 million? They are just going to serve Nigeria; why this punishment?” she said.
Another mother, Alimotu Akanke, said her son, Akande Farouq, was posted to Abia State.
He sent a brief message to his family before his phone went off. Farouq reportedly sent the word “Kidnappers!” to the family’s WhatsApp group before communication was lost.
In addition, friends and relatives of the victims have launched social media campaigns calling for their safe release.
A manifest from the two buses reportedly listed 30 passengers, 15 in each bus. However, the number abducted and the identities of those rescued remained subject to clarification.
Oyo Government Condemns Abduction, Assures Families
The Oyo State Government has condemned the abduction and assured families of the victims’ safe release. The assurance came at the Oyo State Government Secretariat, where affected families paid a protest visit.
Executive Assistant to Governor Seyi Makinde on Security, Sunday Odukoya, attended to the group. He assured them that Makinde is working with all relevant stakeholders to secure the corps members’ release.
According to the transport company, the buses left Bodija/Samonda Park in Ibadan on Wednesday. Traffic delayed them around Benin, and they stopped overnight at Oba because of the road condition. They resumed the journey around 5am on Thursday.
The managing director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited, Isiah Akpan, whose company operated the buses, said gunmen emerged from the bush as they entered Imo State.
“They blocked the two vehicles and took 19 passengers, all corps members, into the bush,” he said. The drivers reportedly escaped and alerted security personnel.
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Southwest Zone D described the incident as more than an ordinary highway kidnapping.
It called for urgent action to rescue the affected graduates. The student body also called for changes to NYSC deployment and transportation arrangements.
The NYSC was established as a national integration programme. It brings young Nigerians from different parts of the country together and deploys them away from their home states.
Yet the journey towards that national integration can expose them to kidnapping.
Security agencies have not ignored the incident. The Imo State Police Command said tactical teams were deployed for search-and-rescue operations, and the two buses were recovered.
The Defence Headquarters also reported that troops of Operation UDO KA rescued some victims while operations continued for those still missing.
Parents Say Kidnappers Issued 24-Hour Deadline
The parents revealed on Saturday that the abductors had given them 24 hours to pay ₦1bn ransom. They disclosed this when they visited the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, at his private residence in Bodija, Ibadan.
They were accompanied by the state Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, and the Aseyin of Iseyinland, Oba Sefiu Adeyeri. The abductors reportedly demanded ₦50m for each victim, amounting to ₦1bn.
In addition, the Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation (MDPCO) condemned the abduction. It alleged that the Federal Government had failed to adequately protect Nigerians from rising insecurity.
The group said the incident was particularly distressing because the victims were young Nigerians travelling for mandatory national service.
The MDPCO commended the sacrifices of security personnel. It asked President Tinubu to adopt the security approach of the presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Seyi Makinde, in Oyo State.
According to the group, that approach centres on intelligence gathering, inter-agency collaboration, coordinated operations, preventive measures and rapid response.
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