Accounts from families of some abducted National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and other travellers have contradicted claims by the Nigerian police and military that some of the victims were rescued following recent abductions in Imo State.
The conflicting accounts have raised fresh concerns over the actual number of people abducted, the identities of those who have regained their freedom and the number of victims who may still be in captivity.
The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (InterSociety), a civil liberties organisation, said on Saturday that it had greater confidence in accounts provided by victims’ families, transport operators and persons who had been released than in reports issued by security agencies concerning the abduction of NYSC members and other travellers in Imo State.
InterSociety said some relatives of abducted persons had continued to insist that their loved ones were yet to regain their freedom despite announcements by security agencies claiming that some of the victims had been rescued.
The organisation said the development was particularly concerning because security agencies had, on several occasions, issued conflicting accounts of abductions and rescue operations in parts of the South-East and Middle Belt.
It cited the August 2026 abductions in Kogi and Benue states, including the reported abduction of 15 NYSC members, as examples of incidents where official accounts were allegedly challenged by relatives of victims.
According to the organisation, some families had publicly disputed reports that their relatives had been rescued, insisting that the victims remained in captivity.
InterSociety further recalled the case of a family from Anambra whose daughter was reportedly among those abducted and whose relatives allegedly launched an appeal for tens of millions of naira to secure her release, despite claims by security agencies that she had been rescued.
The organisation said passenger manifests and other records held by owners and managers of vehicles involved in the incidents were important sources of information for establishing the actual number of people abducted.
It added that accounts from victims who were eventually freed or rescued could also help determine the identities of their abductors, the conditions in which they were held and the circumstances surrounding their release.
InterSociety alleged that reports concerning rescue operations by security agencies in the South-East had often been affected by conflicting information and what it described as the “disfigurement” or suppression of facts.
The organisation also accused security agencies of prematurely attributing some criminal incidents in the South-East to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the Eastern Security Network (ESN) or “unknown gunmen of Igbo extraction,” while allegedly ignoring other possible perpetrators.
It further claimed that some relatives of kidnap victims who contacted security formations had allegedly been advised against identifying suspected Fulani herdsmen as the abductors and were instead encouraged to describe the perpetrators as unknown gunmen or IPOB/ESN.
According to InterSociety, the allegation was based on feedback it had received from relatives of victims who allegedly contacted security agencies after receiving calls from abducted family members or their kidnappers.
The organisation maintained that independent accounts should be prioritised in determining the actual circumstances surrounding the abduction of the NYSC members and other travellers in Imo State.
It said information from victims’ families, transport companies and released victims could provide a clearer picture of the number of people abducted, those rescued and those who might still be in captivity.
InterSociety, however, acknowledged that some rescue operations announced by security agencies were credible, citing the rescue of abducted schoolchildren in Oyo State as an example.
The statement was signed by Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chair of InterSociety, alongside other officials of the organisation.