20 Abducted Prospective Corps Members Regain Freedom in Imo

Twenty prospective National Youth Service Corps members abducted while travelling to their orientation camps have regained their freedom after seven days in captivity in Imo State.

The victims were abducted on October 1 along the Owerri-Onitsha Road near Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area while travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.

Channels Television reported that the 20 prospective corps members and one other person regained their freedom on Wednesday.

The victims were subsequently taken to the Department of State Services Hospital in Owerri, where they are receiving medical attention.

Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier-General Olakunle Oluseye Nafiu, visited the hospital to meet the victims and assess their condition.

He was accompanied by senior security officials, including the Imo State Commissioner of Police, the Director of the Department of State Services in the state and the Commander of the 34 Artillery Brigade.

The Managing Director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited, Isiah Akpan, whose company's buses were involved in the incident, also confirmed the release.

Abducted While Travelling to Orientation Camps

The prospective corps members were travelling in two buses from Ibadan when gunmen intercepted the vehicles along the Owerri-Onitsha Road on October 1.

Following the attack, security agencies launched a coordinated search-and-rescue operation.

Imo State Commissioner of Police Audu Bosso had earlier disclosed that security operatives used drone surveillance to locate the camp where the abducted travellers were believed to have been held.

He said intelligence indicated that the location had been mined with improvised explosive devices, complicating efforts by security personnel to enter the camp.

Earlier reports also said the kidnappers made substantial ransom demands for the release of the victims. Reports differed over the exact number of captives and the initial total demanded, with figures ranging from ₦950 million for 19 victims to ₦1 billion for 20.

The ransom was subsequently reported to have been reduced.

As of the announcement of their release, authorities had not publicly provided full details of the circumstances under which the victims regained their freedom, including whether any ransom was paid or suspects were arrested.

The victims remain under medical care in Owerri.