Precious Nwonu, Enugu

Kidnappers of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps members abducted in Imo State have demanded N1 billion ransom for their release, giving the victims’ families 24 hours to raise the money.

The victims were abducted on Thursday after gunmen attacked two buses conveying prospective corps members along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in the Umunoha area of Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State.

The young Nigerians were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when the attackers intercepted the buses and took the passengers into the bush.

The ransom demand was disclosed by relatives of the victims during a visit to the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, in Ibadan on Saturday.

The families said the abductors had contacted them using the mobile phones of some of the victims and demanded N50 million for each person.

Speaking on behalf of the families, Alhaja Akande and Oyebola Akande said the kidnappers had threatened to harm the victims if the ransom was not paid within the stipulated period.

The parents appealed to Ladoja, the police and other authorities to intervene, saying the families could not afford the amount demanded.

Ladoja assured the relatives that efforts were being made to secure the victims’ safe release, while the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, said he had been in contact with his Imo counterpart over the incident.

Meanwhile, the Imo State Police Command said it had identified the location where the victims were being held but had delayed a direct assault because of intelligence suggesting that the area had been planted with improvised explosive devices.

The Commissioner of Police in Imo State, Audu Garba Bosso, said security operatives tracked the kidnappers into the bush and used drones to identify their suspected hideout.

Bosso said the police were preparing to enter the area with specialised equipment, including bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers, to minimise the risk to the hostages and security personnel.

He said the priority remained rescuing the victims alive while ensuring that the operation did not expose them to additional danger.

In a separate development, the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has deployed senior police officers to Imo State to coordinate the search-and-rescue operation.

The Force Public Relations Officer, Anietie Iniedu, said the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Nadada, had been directed to take charge of the tactical operation in Owerri.

Nadada arrived in the state alongside two commissioners of police to assess the security situation and review the deployment of tactical assets around identified criminal hideouts.

The police said additional tactical teams had also been deployed, while intelligence-led operations were being intensified to track the kidnappers and secure the safe release of the victims.

The abduction has triggered renewed concerns over the safety of prospective corps members travelling to orientation camps across the country, particularly as the NYSC scheme requires participants to travel outside their home states.

The incident has also attracted political reactions, with the Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation accusing the Federal Government of failing to adequately protect Nigerians from kidnappers, bandits and other criminal groups.

In a statement issued by its Director of Strategic Communications, Richard Ihediwa, the organisation described the abduction as another indication of what it called the failure of the administration to guarantee the security of citizens.

The campaign organisation urged the Federal Government to strengthen intelligence gathering, coordination among security agencies and rapid-response mechanisms to prevent further attacks on Nigerians.

It also expressed solidarity with the affected families and called for the immediate and safe release of the abducted prospective corps members.

Security agencies have continued to maintain a presence in the area as the search for the victims and their abductors intensifies.