Parents of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted while travelling from Oyo State to their respective orientation camps have raised the alarm over a ₦1 billion ransom demand by their captors, who reportedly gave them 24 hours to pay or risk the lives of their children.
The affected parents made the disclosure on Saturday 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, to seek urgent intervention for the safe release of the victims.
The 20 graduates were reportedly travelling from Ibadan to their NYSC orientation camps on Thursday when gunmen ambushed the two buses conveying them along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State. The abductors were said to have demanded ₦50 million for each victim, bringing the total ransom to ₦1 billion.
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 prospective corps members, threatening to harm them if the ransom was not paid within the stipulated period. They lamented that the families could not afford such an enormous amount and appealed to the Olubadan to intervene. “There is no way we can raise such an amount at this period. Baba, kindly assist us. Don’t let them kill our children,” they pleaded.
Responding, Oba Ladoja assured the distressed parents that efforts were underway to secure the victims’ safe release, expressing confidence in the capacity of security agencies to handle the situation. He said the police were working round the clock and promised to relay relevant information to the families as developments emerged.
The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, disclosed that he had been in constant communication with his Imo State counterpart, Audu Garba Bosso, since the incident occurred. He said the Imo police commissioner had assured him that the abducted graduates would be rescued unharmed, although he did not disclose details of the ongoing operation or whether any ransom had been paid.
Meanwhile, security agencies have intensified efforts to rescue the victims, with the Imo State Commissioner of Police reportedly confirming that operatives had used drones to locate the suspected camp where the remaining abductees were being held. However, the rescue operation was said to have been delayed by intelligence reports indicating that the camp had been planted with improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has also deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Nadada, to Imo State to coordinate the search-and-rescue operation.
