Kidnappers Slash NYSC Ransom From N1bn to N100m, Beat 20 Victims

Kidnappers holding 20 prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Imo State have reduced their ransom demand from N50 million to N5 million per victim.

The reduction brings the total ransom demand from N1 billion to N100 million, but the development has failed to ease the anxiety of the victims’ families, who said the abducted graduates were being beaten by their captors.

The prospective corps members were travelling from Ibadan to their NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states on Thursday when gunmen attacked the two buses conveying them around Umunoha on the Owerri-Onitsha Road.

One of the affected parents, Alhaja Alimot Akande, who spoke through one of her daughters in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Sunday, said the victims had been subjected to physical assault since Friday.

“The kidnappers had reduced their demand from the earlier N50m per victim to N5m each. They are still demanding N5m. They have come down to N5m each,” she said.

Akande appealed to the Federal Government and security agencies to urgently intervene and secure the victims’ release, expressing concern that the kidnappers were no longer sparing any of the abducted graduates.

“Sir, we appeal to the government at all levels to please assist us in getting them rescued out of that place. They have started beating them since yesterday,” she said.

Asked whether the female corps members were also being assaulted, she said, “They are not sparing anybody. They are beating all of them.”

She further disclosed that one of the victims had been allowed to speak with his father, but alleged that the kidnappers were using the communication to assess the family’s ability to raise the ransom.

According to her, the abductors would allow the victim to answer his father’s calls because they believed the family could raise the money demanded.

Akande said she could not confirm how much money the families had raised so far, explaining that she was not privy to the arrangements being made by the other parents.

She described the situation as “horrible, scary and overwhelming.”

The parents also disputed reports that 10 passengers were rescued by security operatives after the attack, saying those who escaped did so by fleeing into the bush.

Some of the victims identified by their parents include Makinde Mary Oluwapelumi, Akande Kehinde Morufat, Abdul Temiloluwa Sarah, Adeniran Mariam Olulola, Adefioye Ayomide Isaac, Adewale Paul Iyanuoluwa and Oyede Esther Funmilayo.

The names were released during a visit by the parents to the private residence of the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, in Bodija, Ibadan North Local Government Area, on Saturday.

The Olubadan assured the parents that efforts were being made to secure the victims’ safe release.

“I want to assure that your children would be rescued unharmed. We will relate whatever information we gather to you. The police are working round the clock to secure their rescue,” Ladoja said.

The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, also said he had contacted his Imo State counterpart and was assured that the victims would be rescued unharmed.

“I had already contacted Imo State CP. We have been talking since the day of the incident, and he assured me that the victims would be rescued unhurt,” he said.

### Security agencies intensify rescue operation

The Imo State Police Command and the 34 Artillery Brigade, Owerri, said security agencies were intensifying efforts to rescue the abducted prospective corps members.

The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Henry Okoye, said operatives were conducting an operation and gradually closing in on the victims.

“We’re conducting the operation and gradually closing in. We will keep you posted,” he said.

The Public Relations Officer of the 34 Artillery Brigade, Owerri, Major Hashimu Abdullahi, said the matter was receiving the required attention, adding that security agencies were working together to secure the victims’ release.

The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso, had earlier disclosed that security operatives had identified the location where the victims were being held.

Bosso said the police used drones to locate the suspected kidnappers’ camp after operatives trailed the abductors into the bush but could not immediately move into the area because intelligence indicated that the camp had been planted with improvised explosive devices.

He said security agencies were preparing to move into the area with heavy equipment, including bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers, to facilitate the rescue operation.

ADC calls for NYSC suspension

Meanwhile, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called for the suspension of the NYSC scheme for one year to allow the Federal Government to reorganise the programme and strengthen measures to protect corps members.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the scheme remained important to national unity but argued that the current security situation required an urgent review.

“I think the NYSC is still relevant. But I think we need to respond to the current situation of insecurity in the country.

“If we were to advise the President, we think this is the time to suspend it for at least one year to give room for proper reorganisation, in such a way that it will protect the young people and also make the scheme worthwhile for them,” he said.

Abdullahi also criticised the Federal Government’s handling of insecurity, arguing that the safety of young Nigerians travelling to their places of service should be prioritised.

Opposition parties demand rescue

The National Democratic Congress, Labour Party, Social Democratic Party and Young Progressives Party also condemned the abduction and demanded the immediate and safe rescue of the victims.

The NDC National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, said the government had a constitutional responsibility to protect the lives and property of Nigerians, while calling for an overhaul of the country’s security architecture.

Similarly, the Labour Party spokesman, Ken Asogwa, described the incident as evidence of worsening insecurity and urged the Federal Government to prioritise the victims’ rescue.

The SDP spokesperson, Rufus Aiyenigba, described the abduction as “a shame of a nation,” while calling for stronger security measures to reverse the growing wave of kidnappings.

The YPP National Publicity Secretary, Wale Egbeola-Martins, said the ransom demand underscored the growing kidnapping economy and called for intelligence-driven measures to prevent such attacks.

The party also said the NYSC was overdue for comprehensive reform to reflect Nigeria’s current security realities.

### Peter Obi, Sowore react

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, also condemned the abduction and called for the immediate and safe rescue of the victims.

In a post on his verified X handle on Sunday, Obi said the incident was another indication of the worsening insecurity in the country.

“Protecting lives and property is the government’s foremost responsibility. We cannot continue to regard insecurity as an ordinary occurrence or act only after people’s lives have been disrupted,” he said.

He called for the arrest of those responsible for the abduction.

Also reacting, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, called for the suspension and eventual scrapping of the NYSC scheme.

Sowore argued that young Nigerians should not be compelled to travel to distant locations to serve their country when the government could not guarantee their safety.

 LAUTECH confirms graduates among victims

The management of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, expressed concern over the incident, particularly because at least three of the institution’s graduates were reportedly among those abducted.

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Razaq Kalilu, called for coordinated efforts by security agencies to secure the victims’ release.

“The University stands firmly with the affected families at this deeply distressing moment,” he said.

He added that the institution remained in solidarity with the families and was praying for the safe return of its graduates and all other victims.

### Alli appeals for unconditional release

The Oyo State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, also condemned the abduction and appealed for the unconditional release of the prospective corps members.

Alli urged security agencies to intensify efforts to locate and rescue the victims, while calling for stronger security measures along major inter-state routes.

He said Nigerians should be able to travel for education, employment and national service without fear for their lives.

### Campaign council demands Tinubu’s intervention

The Seyi Makinde Allied Peoples Movement 2027 Presidential Campaign Council also urged President Bola Tinubu to take immediate action to rescue the abducted corps members.

In a statement signed by its Director of Strategic Communications, Richard Ihediwa, the council called on the President, as Commander-in-Chief, to ensure the safe and unconditional release of the victims.

It also urged the Federal Government to intensify efforts to rescue other Nigerians being held captive across Niger, Kwara, Kaduna, Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina, Borno and other states.

The council said the continued captivity of the prospective corps members was unacceptable and urged the President to take decisive action to address the country’s worsening security challenges.