The 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted in Imo State have allegedly been subjected to physical assault by their captors, while the kidnappers have reportedly reduced their ransom demand from N50m to N5m per victim.
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The development has increased concerns among the families as the deadline reportedly issued by the abductors for payment of the ransom approaches.
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One of the relatives, Alhaja Alimot Akande, whose 25-year-old sister, Kehinde Akande, is among the abducted graduates, said the victims had allegedly been beaten since Saturday.
Akande said the kidnappers were now demanding N5m for each of the 20 victims, amounting to N100m in total. She said she could not confirm how much had so far been raised by the families because she was not involved in arrangements being made by other relatives.
She also alleged that the abductors had been assaulting all the victims, including the female corps members.
According to her, her sister told her during a phone conversation that the kidnappers had started beating the abducted graduates. She appealed to the government to intensify efforts to rescue them from the kidnappers’ custody.
Akande further disclosed that one of the abducted corps members had been allowed to speak with his father, although the kidnappers were reportedly monitoring the communication.
She said the abductors would notify the victim whenever his father called and allow him to speak with him, apparently as part of their efforts to determine whether the family could raise the demanded ransom.
The families have continued to rely on assurances from the police while efforts are reportedly being made to raise money and secure the victims’ release.
Meanwhile, the Oyo State Government said it was maintaining communication with the Imo State Government and security agencies over the incident.
The state Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, said Oyo State was actively involved in efforts to rescue the affected graduates despite the abduction taking place outside the state.
Oyelade said the state government was sharing its experience from the recent abduction of students and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area with the Imo authorities as part of the ongoing discussions.
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He said the government would not make all details of its strategy public because of the sensitive nature of the rescue operation.
The commissioner also called for answers from the Federal Government and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces regarding the broader national security response to the incident.
He referred to Governor Seyi Makinde’s previous intervention over the abduction of students in Borno State, noting that the Borno incident occurred around the same period as the Oriire abduction.
Oyelade said the Oyo Government remained committed to ensuring the safe return of the abducted graduates and would continue working with relevant authorities despite the incident occurring in Imo State.
The 20 prospective corps members were abducted on Thursday while travelling from Ibadan to their respective NYSC orientation camps in two buses.
The vehicles were reportedly attacked by gunmen along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State, while the graduates were travelling to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.
The incident initially led to a N50m ransom demand for each victim, bringing the total demand to N1bn. The families subsequently visited the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, at his private residence in Bodija, Ibadan, to seek assistance.
The parents were accompanied by the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, and the Aseyin of Iseyinland, Oba Sefiu Adeyeri.
The families told Ladoja that they could not raise the N1bn demanded by the kidnappers and appealed for urgent intervention to secure the victims’ release.
Ladoja assured the families that security agencies were working to rescue the abducted graduates safely.
The Oyo State Commissioner of Police also said he had remained in contact with his Imo counterpart since the attack and had received assurances that efforts were being made to secure the victims’ release unharmed.
The latest claims of assault and the reduced ransom demand have not been independently established by security authorities.
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