Families say abductors demand N1bn for 20 prospective corps members
Families of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps members abducted in Imo State say their kidnappers have demanded N50m for each victim and issued a 24-hour ultimatum. Police say a suspected holding camp has been located, but a rescue operation was delayed by intelligence that improvised explosive devices may have been planted there.
Relatives of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps members abducted in Imo State said on Saturday that their captors had demanded a total ransom of N1bn and given them 24 hours to pay. The families made the disclosure during a visit to the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, in Ibadan. They were accompanied by Oyo State Commissioner of Police Olugbenga Abimbola and the Aseyin of Iseyinland, Oba Sefiu Adeyeri.
The graduates were travelling from Ibadan to their NYSC orientation camps on Thursday when gunmen attacked two buses along the Owerri-Onitsha Road at Umunoha in Imo State. Relatives said the abductors had contacted them through the phones of some of the victims, demanding N50m for each person. Speaking for the families, Alhaja Akande and Oyebola Akande said the kidnappers threatened that the victims would be harmed if the demand was not met.
They appealed to Ladoja and the police to intervene, saying the families could not raise the money. Ladoja assured the relatives that efforts were under way to rescue the victims unharmed. Abimbola said he had been in contact with the Imo State commissioner of police, who assured him that the victims would be rescued.
He did not say whether any ransom had been paid. Imo State Commissioner of Police Audu Garba Bosso said security operatives had used drones to locate a suspected camp where the remaining victims were being held. He said the operation had been delayed because intelligence suggested that the camp was planted with improvised explosive devices.
Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of operations, Shehu Nadada, to Imo to coordinate the search-and-rescue effort. The police have not provided further details on the number of victims still in captivity.
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