Twenty prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) who were kidnapped while travelling to their orientation camps in Imo State have regained their freedom following a coordinated security operation.
The victims, who were abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State, were reportedly rescued during an intelligence-led operation involving the military, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies.
The 20 prospective corps members and another hostage were freed during the operation, according to reports.
The rescued victims are currently receiving medical attention at a DSS facility.
Their rescue comes four days after reports emerged that the abductors had demanded a total ransom of N1 billion from the families of the 20 kidnapped graduates.
The prospective corps members were abducted on October 1 when gunmen attacked two buses conveying them from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their respective NYSC orientation camps in the South-East.
The kidnappers reportedly demanded N50 million for each victim and threatened to harm them if their families failed to pay the ransom.
The families disclosed the ransom demand on October 3 when they visited the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, at his private residence in Bodija, Ibadan, alongside the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, and the Aseyin of Iseyinland, Oba Sefiu Adeyeri.
Speaking on behalf of the affected families, Alhaja Akande and Oyebola Akande said the kidnappers had been contacting them through the mobile phones of the abducted graduates.
“They have been calling us since yesterday (Friday) with a demand for N50m ransom each. They are threatening that anything untoward will happen to our children if we fail to heed to their request,” the parents had said.
The families appealed to the Olubadan and the police to urgently intervene, expressing fears over the safety of the victims following the threats issued by the abductors.
Responding to the families, Ladoja assured them that security agencies were working to secure the victims’ release unharmed.
“I want to assure that your children would be rescued unharmed. We will relate whatever information we gather to you. The Police are working round the clock to secure their rescue. Don’t worry yourself, police are up to the task, and nothing would happen to your children,” he said.
The Oyo State Commissioner of Police also disclosed that he had been in contact with his Imo State counterpart, Audu Garba Bosso, over the abduction.
“I had already contacted Imo State CP. We have been talking since the day of incident, and he assured me that the victims would be rescued unhurt,” Abimbola said.
The Imo State Police Command had earlier disclosed that security operatives identified the suspected kidnappers’ hideout with the aid of drones.
However, Bosso said the rescue operation was delayed by intelligence indicating that the area had been planted with improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, had also deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Nadada, to Imo State to coordinate the search-and-rescue operation.
The successful rescue has brought an end to days of uncertainty for the affected families, who had expressed fears over the safety of the graduates as they awaited the commencement of their mandatory one-year national service.
Details of the rescue operation, including whether any arrests were made and whether ransom was paid to secure the victims’ release, were not immediately available.