Kidnappers Give 24-Hour Ultimatum for Abducted NYSC Members, Others

Parents of 20 prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) abducted while travelling from Oyo State to their orientation camps have raised concerns over a N1bn ransom demand for their release.

The parents disclosed on Saturday that the kidnappers had given them 24 hours to raise the money, with N50m demanded for each victim.

The families made the disclosure when they visited the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, at his private residence in Bodija, Ibadan. They were accompanied by the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, and the Aseyin of Iseyinland, Oba Sefiu Adeyeri.

The 20 graduates were travelling from Ibadan to their respective NYSC orientation camps on Thursday when gunmen reportedly attacked two buses carrying them along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in the Umunoha area of Imo State.

The Managing Director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited, Isiah Akpan, had earlier confirmed that the abductors were demanding ransom for the victims.

Representing the affected families, Alhaja Akande and Oyebola Akande said the kidnappers had been contacting them using the mobile phones of some of the abducted prospective corps members.

They said the abductors had threatened the victims’ lives if the ransom was not provided within the stipulated period. The families appealed to the Olubadan and security authorities to intervene because they could not raise N1bn.

Ladoja assured the families that efforts were underway to secure the victims’ safe release. He said the police were working to rescue them and that relevant information gathered during the operation would be communicated to the families.

The Oyo State Commissioner of Police said he had been communicating with his Imo State counterpart since the incident occurred. According to him, the Imo police command had assured him that efforts were being made to rescue the victims unharmed.

The police commissioner did not disclose whether any ransom had been paid or provide specific details about the ongoing rescue operation.

Meanwhile, security agencies have intensified efforts to locate and rescue the abducted prospective corps members.

The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Garba Bosso, disclosed on Saturday that security operatives had deployed drones and identified the location believed to be the kidnappers’ hideout.

He, however, said the rescue operation had been delayed by intelligence indicating that improvised explosive devices had been planted around the camp.

The development comes as the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Nadada, to Imo State to coordinate the search-and-rescue operation.

The security agencies are continuing efforts to reach the victims while taking precautions against the reported explosive devices around the suspected hideout.