Families of prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members from Oyo State have been thrown into panic after kidnappers reportedly demanded ₦50 million for each victim abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Imo State.
The victims were travelling from Ibadan to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when gunmen attacked two buses in the Umunoha area of Imo State on Thursday. The Managing Director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited, Isiah Akpan, whose company operates the buses, confirmed the ransom demands.
Akpan said the abductors had contacted some of the victims’ families and demanded ₦50 million for each person in their custody. The reported demands have heightened anxiety among relatives as security agencies continue efforts to locate the remaining victims.
According to Akpan, the two buses left Bodija/Samonda Park in Ibadan on Wednesday but encountered heavy traffic around Benin, Edo State, delaying their journey. The buses eventually reached Onitsha, Anambra State, late that day. Because of the condition of the road, the drivers and passengers decided to spend the night in Oba before continuing their journey the following morning. They resumed the trip from Oba at about 5am on Thursday.
Akpan said the buses had barely entered Imo State when gunmen emerged from the bush, blocked the vehicles and forced 19 passengers into the bush.
“They blocked the two vehicles and took 19 passengers, all corps members, into the bush,” he said.
The drivers reportedly escaped and alerted security personnel at a nearby checkpoint. Police and military personnel subsequently began searching for the abductors and their victims.
Response Initially Complicated
Akpan said the response was initially complicated after some villagers allegedly prevented security personnel from moving the abandoned buses from the scene. The vehicles were eventually left at the location, with some of the passengers’ belongings still inside.
Less than 24 hours after the attack, the Imo State Police Command announced that 10 victims had been rescued. The development means efforts are continuing to account for the remaining passengers reportedly taken into the bush.
Families of the missing corps members have appealed for help as they await further information from the authorities and work to secure the safe return of their relatives.
