The 20 prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps who were abducted in Imo State have reportedly been offered the opportunity to choose any of the six South-West states for their national service.
A parent of one of the survivors told newsmen on Friday that the graduates could select their preferred states and continue service with the current batch.
“They have been given the opportunity to choose states in the South-West to continue their service with the current batch,” the parent said.
The reported South-West posting arrangement would allow the survivors to continue their national service closer to their families and support networks following the ordeal.
The disclosure came as families of the freed graduates confirmed ppayingN6m in ransom for each captive to secure their release.
One parent, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the families had withheld details of the payments until the victims were freed.
“As for the ransom, we eventually paid ₦6m each, but we wanted them freed before disclosing that,” the parent said.
Joy Zainab, a relative of another survivor, also confirmed that families and well-wishers pooled funds to meet the ransom demand.
“Alhamdulillah, he has been released and is safe with us at home. Thank you to everyone who prayed, reached out, showed concern, shared his story and supported us financially towards his ransom,” she said.
The accounts corroborated an earlier disclosure by Alirat Wahab, the mother of another victim, who said her family paid N6m after the kidnappers initially demanded N50m for each captive.
Wahab said the abductors later reduced their demand to N15m before eventually accepting N6m following pleas from the family.
“Initially, they asked us to pay N50m per head. We asked whether the amount was for all of them, but they insisted it was per person, so we started begging them to take N500,000, but they refused,” she said.
The 20 graduates were abducted while travelling from Oyo State to Abia State. They regained their freedom on Wednesday after spending several days in captivity and were subsequently reunited with their families.
