One of the prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members recently released after being kidnapped in Imo State has raised suspicions about the conduct of the driver who conveyed them from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their respective orientation camps, recounting unusual stops and incidents during the journey before gunmen intercepted their vehicle along the Owerri-Onitsha Road.
The rescued corps member, in a Yoruba-language interview shared on TikTok and seen by ChroniclesReporters, said passengers had questioned the driver’s movements and repeated stops before the abduction, which occurred on October 1.
However, although her account has raised questions about the circumstances surrounding the incident, she did not provide evidence establishing that the driver colluded with the kidnappers. It also remains unclear whether security agencies have questioned the driver or established any connection between him and the attackers.
According to the victim, the journey from Ibadan began at about 9am, but the driver repeatedly stopped even though the vehicle had covered relatively little distance.
She said the driver, at one point, claimed he wanted to buy something, while the passengers continued to express concerns about his conduct.
The suspicions reportedly intensified when they arrived in Onitsha at about 10pm.
The driver allegedly told the passengers that the vehicles he had been following belonged to people who were unfamiliar with the road and had decided to spend the night in Onitsha before continuing their journey the following morning.
The explanation reportedly heightened the passengers’ concerns about the driver’s movements and the repeated interruptions to their journey.
Recounting another incident she considered unusual, the victim said the driver bought soup during the journey, an action that contributed to the passengers’ suspicions.
“He bought soup on the way and we suspected him while a driver would buy soup and keep,” she said in the interview.
The rescued corps member explained that she had been asleep when the vehicle reached the location where the gunmen eventually attacked them.
According to her, she woke up when the armed men stopped the vehicle and immediately shared her live location with members of her family through a WhatsApp group chat.
“I was sleeping when we reached the location where kidnapping happens. So fortunately I wake up when the gunmen stopped us and quickly shared my location to my family group chat on WhatsApp,” she said.
She recounted hearing gunshots as the attackers intercepted the vehicle and seized the passengers.
The victims were subsequently taken into captivity, where they remained until Friday, when their abductors reportedly instructed them to begin contacting their family members.
Her account has raised questions about whether the driver’s repeated stops and movements before the attack could have been connected to the abduction. However, no evidence has been presented to establish such a connection, and it is not clear whether investigators have confirmed any link between the driver and the kidnappers.
ChroniclesReporters understands that 20 prospective corps members were kidnapped on October 1 when gunmen attacked two buses conveying them from Ibadan to their respective NYSC orientation camps in the South-East.
The attack occurred along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State, where the gunmen reportedly intercepted the vehicles and abducted the occupants.
The kidnappers allegedly demanded a ransom of ₦50 million for each victim, bringing the total demand to ₦1 billion. They also reportedly threatened to harm the captives if their families failed to meet their demands.
The abduction triggered appeals from the victims’ families, who sought urgent intervention from the authorities to secure the release of their loved ones.
Before the rescue operation, relatives of the abducted graduates visited the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, at his private residence in Bodija, Ibadan, to seek assistance and draw attention to the plight of the captives.
The families disclosed that the kidnappers had contacted them using the mobile phones of the victims and issued threats over the ransom demands.
The victims were eventually released following an intelligence-led security operation involving the military, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies. Another hostage was also reportedly freed during the operation.
Security agencies had earlier disclosed that drones were deployed to identify the suspected kidnappers’ hideout and support efforts to locate the captives.
The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Garba Bosso, also disclosed that the operation had been delayed by intelligence suggesting that the area where the victims were being held had been planted with improvised explosive devices.
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, had deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Nadada, to Imo State to coordinate the rescue operation.
Following their release, reports indicated that the rescued victims were receiving medical attention at a DSS facility.
The traumatic experience has also raised concerns about the willingness of some of the rescued prospective corps members to continue their national service outside their home state.
In the interview, the rescued corps member said she was no longer willing to undertake her NYSC service in another state, insisting that she would complete the programme in Oyo State.
“I am not going to camp in another state. I will finish my NYSC here in Oyo State,” she said.
A woman who appeared to be a relative of one of the victims also expressed relief over the rescue but said the incident had changed the family’s position on where the young woman should undertake her national service.
“My daughter is back to us, we thank God, but she will never go back to that state for her NYSC,” the woman said.
The rescued corps member’s account has added another dimension to the kidnapping incident, particularly regarding the circumstances surrounding the journey before the attack.
However, whether the driver’s conduct was connected to the abduction remains unestablished, and any conclusion about possible complicity would depend on the findings of a proper investigation.