Nineteen prospective National Youth Service Corps members travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states have been abducted in Imo State.
The victims were travelling in two buses operated by Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited when gunmen attacked them along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha on Thursday.
The company’s Managing Director, Isiah Akpan, said the abductors had contacted some of the victims’ families and demanded N50 million for each person, putting the total ransom demand at N950 million.
Akpan said the buses left Bodija/Samonda Park in Ibadan on Wednesday but were delayed by traffic around Benin, Edo State. They later arrived in Onitsha, Anambra State, where the passengers spent the night before continuing their journey around 5am on Thursday.
He said the vehicles had barely entered Imo State when gunmen emerged from the bush, blocked the two buses and took 19 passengers into the bush.
The drivers reportedly escaped and alerted security personnel at a nearby checkpoint, prompting the police and military to launch a search operation.
The Imo State Police Command said on Thursday night that 10 victims had been rescued, although the Police Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye, could not immediately confirm whether the rescued persons were among the abducted corps members.
Meanwhile, families of the victims have described the incident as distressing, with some confirming that the abductors contacted them using the victims’ phones.
One parent said her son sent a message reading “Kidnappers!” to the family’s WhatsApp group before his phone went dead.
Another mother, Oladosu, said her daughter, Greatness, who was travelling to Uyo, and other corps members were briefly seen during a video call with the abductors.
The two affected buses had 30 passengers listed on their manifests, with 15 passengers in each vehicle. Two other buses operated by the same company and travelling towards Abia reportedly escaped the attack.
Friends of some of the victims have also launched social media campaigns calling for assistance in securing their release.
The Oyo State Government has condemned the abduction and said it was working with security agencies, the Imo State Government and NYSC authorities to secure the safe return of the victims.
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The state Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, said Seyi Makinde had directed that all necessary resources be deployed towards the rescue effort.
The incident has renewed concerns over the safety of prospective corps members travelling to orientation camps, with security experts calling for stronger protection measures along routes considered vulnerable to kidnapping.
A security analyst, Chidi Omeje, said criminals could be exploiting information about the movement of prospective corps members during mobilisation periods.
Security expert Olalekan Jackson-Ojo suggested that the NYSC deployment policy be reviewed to reduce the exposure of corps members to high-risk locations and routes.
The latest incident adds to previous cases of corps members and prospective corps members being abducted while travelling to orientation camps, raising fresh concerns about security arrangements for participants in the national service scheme.
