The Department of State Services (DSS) has arraigned five suspects before the Imo State High Court over the alleged abduction of 24 persons, including 20 prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), in two separate cases involving conspiracy, hostage-taking and unlawful possession of firearms.
Three of the defendants, identified as Usman Aliyu, 25, also known as Chonge; Babangida Aliyu, 21; and Mohammed Ali, 23, alias Smallie Pepper, were accused of abducting the prospective corps members on October 1, 2026, along the Owerri-Mgbidi-Onitsha Expressway.
According to the charge sheet filed at the Imo State High Court, Oru Judicial Division, Mgbidi, the victims were travelling from Ibadan to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when they were allegedly kidnapped by the defendants and other accomplices still at large. The victims were reportedly rescued after seven days in captivity.
The three defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit hostage-taking, an offence punishable under Section 6 of the Imo State Prohibition of Hostage Taking and Related Offences Law No. 4 of 2009. They were also accused of unlawful possession of three AK-47 rifles, four magazines, a pistol and 81 rounds of live ammunition.
In a statement on Tuesday, the DSS confirmed the arraignment, identifying the three suspects as those specifically accused of kidnapping the prospective corps members. The agency reiterated the allegations of conspiracy, hostage-taking and illegal possession of firearms against them.
In a separate case, Aminu Haliru, 27, and Tange Ibrahim, 20, also known as Jijji, were arraigned over the alleged abduction of four persons around Owerri and Mgbidi on October 4, 2026.
The prosecution alleged that the two defendants, alongside other suspects still at large, collected N8 million as ransom for the release of the four victims. They were also accused of unlawfully possessing an AK-47 rifle and a pump-action gun.
The prosecution listed N1.8 million as money recovered in connection with the second case. A DSS investigator and the victims were listed as witnesses in both cases as proceedings commenced against the five defendants.
