Twenty NYSC members abducted in Imo State have reunited with their families in Ibadan after seven days in captivity, recounting their ordeal and thanking security agencies.
The 20 members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) freed on Wednesday after seven days in captivity in a forest in Imo State have reunited with their families in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
According to The Nation, the Department of State Services (DSS) command in Oyo State handed the victims over to their families at about 8:30pm on Thursday, at the agency’s headquarters in Aleshinloye, Ibadan.
The parents reportedly waited for about three hours at the DSS headquarters before being reunited with their children. TheCable understands that security operatives debriefed the victims before handing them over.
“It Was Stressful”
Speaking briefly during the reunion, Akande Morenikeji, one of the freed corps members, described their seven days in captivity as mentally and physically draining.
“Ah, it was stressful, too,” Morenikeji was quoted as saying.
She said the female victims were neither chained nor sexually harassed during their captivity, while the males were subjected to restrictions.
“We were not chained; the guys, yes, the guys mostly. But as for us, the girls, they did not do any sexual harassment to us. They did not do anything sexual to us,” she said.
Morenikeji also thanked the security agencies involved in the operation and urged the government to improve travel arrangements for prospective corps members.
How the Abduction Happened
The NYSC members were abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway in Imo State on Thursday, October 1, when gunmen attacked two 18-seater buses conveying them and other passengers and took them into the bush.
According to reports, the victims were among 30 graduates travelling from Ibadan to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when the attack happened near Umunoha, in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo. About 10 of the prospective corps members reportedly escaped during the attack, while the remaining 20 were taken captive. In a video that went viral on X, the buses were seen bearing the Abia State government logo.
Ransom Demands
Before the rescue operation was concluded, the abductors contacted the victims’ parents on Saturday and demanded a N1 billion ransom, giving them 24 hours to pay for their children’s release.
The abductors later reduced the ransom to N5 million per person, bringing the total to N100 million for all 20 victims.
In response, Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu deployed Shehu Nadada, the deputy inspector-general of police in charge of operations, to coordinate efforts to rescue the corps members. Anietie Iniedu, spokesperson of the Nigeria Police Force, said Nadada arrived in Imo with two commissioners of police and conducted an on-the-spot assessment of the operation. He said the DIG reviewed the deployment of personnel and operational assets and issued directives to strengthen the coordinated response.
The Rescue
In a statement announcing their release on Wednesday, Iniedu said a joint team of operatives from the DSS, the military and the police carried out the rescue operation. Imo State Commissioner of Police Audu Bosso said drone surveillance helped operatives locate the abductors’ camp, and earlier reports said the rescue was delayed by suspected improvised explosive devices around the site.
The victims were rescued at Amakohia-Ubi in Imo State, along with one other passenger who had been abducted in the same attack. They were taken to the DSS Hospital in Owerri for medical checks, where NYSC Director-General Brig.-Gen. Olakunle Nafiu met them. The Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, later confirmed their release after Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma informed him of the development.
Security agencies are continuing efforts to track down the perpetrators. The incident has also renewed concerns over the safety of prospective corps members travelling to orientation camps across the country.
