Kidnappers holding prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted last Thursday along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State, have issued a 24-hour ultimatum to their parents demanding ₦50 million ransom per victim — totalling ₦1 billion.
The victims, travelling in two buses from Ibadan, Oyo State, to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states, were seized by gunmen. The Managing Director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors, Isiah Akpan, confirmed that 19 passengers — all prospective corps members — were taken into the bush. The drivers escaped and raised the alarm at a nearby checkpoint, triggering a search operation. Police accounts later referred to 20 victims.
Parents of the abducted youths disclosed the ransom demand on Saturday when they visited the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, at his Bodija residence, accompanied by Oyo State Commissioner of Police Olugbenga Abimbola and the Aseyin of Iseyinland, Oba Sefiu Adeyeri.
Speaking for the families, Alhaja Akande and Oyebola Akande said the kidnappers had been contacting them through the victims’ phones since Friday. “They have been calling us… with a demand for ₦50 million ransom each. They are threatening that anything untoward will happen to our children if we fail to heed their request. There is no way we can raise such an amount at this time. Baba, kindly assist us. Don’t let them kill our children,” they pleaded.
Oba Ladoja assured the parents that efforts were underway to secure the victims’ safe release. “I want to assure you that your children will be rescued unharmed… The police are working round the clock… nothing will happen to your children,” he said.
Oyo CP Abimbola confirmed he had been in constant contact with his Imo counterpart, who assured him the victims would be rescued unhurt.
Imo State Commissioner of Police Audu Garba Bosso revealed on Saturday that security operatives had identified the kidnappers’ camp using drones after trailing the abductors into the bush on Friday. He said the team delayed storming the location due to intelligence that the camp was planted with improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
“We ran drones… and the drone actually showed us exactly their location. But our predicament is that… the camp is mined with IEDs,” Bosso stated. He added that operatives planned to move in with bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers to rescue the victims safely.
Meanwhile, Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu has deployed a top Deputy Inspector-General and commissioners of police to lead an intensified search-and-rescue operation. Force Public Relations Officer CSP Anietie Iniedu said DIG Shehu Nadada (Operations) arrived in Imo with two commissioners to conduct an on-the-spot assessment and review operational deployments alongside Imo CP Bosso and other commanders. Nadada assured the public of the Force’s resolve to rescue all victims and apprehend the perpetrators.
In a separate development, the Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation (MDPCO) blamed the abduction on what it described as President Bola Tinubu’s laxity on security, which it claimed had emboldened terrorists, bandits and kidnappers.
In a statement by its Director of Strategic Communications, Richard Ihediwa, the organisation described the incident as a sad reflection of the failure of the Tinubu-led administration to protect Nigerians, particularly youths on national assignment. It alleged that more than 600,000 Nigerians had been killed by criminals in the past three-and-a-half years and said Nigeria was degenerating into a failed state where the government’s primary duty to ensure citizens’ security had collapsed.
The MDPCO urged Tinubu to adopt the coordinated, intelligence-driven security approach it attributed to APM presidential candidate Seyi Makinde in Oyo State, and expressed solidarity with affected families while calling for a “reset” under a Makinde/Daura administration.
