IBADAN — Anxiety has intensified among families of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted in Imo State, following reports that the victims are being subjected to severe beatings by their captors as the deadline for payment of ransom approaches.
The kidnappers, who initially demanded N50 million for each of the 20 victims, have reportedly reduced the ransom to N5 million per person, according to one of the affected families.
The prospective corps members were abducted last Thursday while travelling from Ibadan to their respective NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.
The vehicles conveying the graduates were reportedly attacked by gunmen along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State, triggering widespread concern among their families.
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‘They Are Beating All of Them’
One of the affected relatives, Alhaja Alimot Akande, said the situation had become increasingly frightening after she learnt that the abducted victims were being physically assaulted.
Akande, whose 25-year-old sister, Kehinde Akande, is among those abducted, said the kidnappers had reduced their ransom demand from N50 million to N5 million per victim.
“They are still demanding N5 million. They have come down to N5 million each,” she said.
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Asked whether the amount was being demanded for each of the 20 victims, she replied in the affirmative.
Despite the reduction, Akande said the families remained deeply worried because the victims were still being held captive and allegedly subjected to physical violence.
Describing the situation as “horrible, scary and overwhelming,” she appealed to the government to intensify efforts to secure the victims’ release.
“We appeal to the government to please assist us in getting them rescued from that place. When I spoke to my sister, they started beating them yesterday (Sunday),” she said.
She further alleged that the kidnappers were not sparing the female victims.
“They are not sparing anybody. They are beating all of them,” she said.
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Kidnappers Monitoring Families’ Ability to Pay
Akande also disclosed that one of the abducted corps members had been allowed to communicate with his father.
According to her, however, the kidnappers allegedly use such calls to assess the family’s ability to raise the demanded ransom.
She said the victim’s father had been communicating with him through a telephone provided by the abductors.
“They know money will come out of his father’s hands, so they would just pick it and allow him to talk. And they have been beating him. They have been beating all of them.”
The families, she added, had been relying on assurances from the police while continuing efforts to raise the money demanded by the kidnappers.
Parents Accuse Transport Company
The affected families have also raised concerns about the transport company that conveyed the prospective corps members from Ibadan.
The parents alleged that Eduak King Transport Company, located in the Samonda area of Ibadan, refused to provide vital passenger information that could have helped them contact other affected families.
According to the parents, they visited the company’s premises seeking the next-of-kin details of passengers who travelled on the ill-fated vehicles.
One of the affected mothers, Mrs Iyabo Akande, called on the Inspector-General of Police and the government to investigate the transport operator and determine whether anyone should be held accountable.
“We were at their office yesterday morning (Sunday morning) asking for the next of kin list so we could contact other parents, but they refused to present it or assist us,” she alleged.
Another parent, Mr Olawale Olaleye, said the families were surprised to find the company loading another vehicle when they visited its premises.
“We went to Samonda, to Eduak King. Surprisingly, they were already loading another vehicle. People are complaining; the company should be held liable,” he said.
When the premises were visited, other transport operators were reportedly carrying out their normal activities, while the affected company’s premises were locked and no official was available to respond to the allegations.
Oyo Government: We Are Working With Imo
Meanwhile, the Oyo State Government said it was working closely with its Imo State counterpart and security agencies to secure the release of the abducted graduates.
The state Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, said Oyo State was actively involved despite the abduction occurring outside the state.
According to him, the government is drawing from its experience during the recent Oriire abduction crisis while engaging with authorities in Imo State.
“We are in close contact at government-to-government level and actively working with the security apparatus in Oyo and Imo states,” Oyelade said.
He explained that the government would not disclose every detail of its strategy because of the sensitive nature of the rescue operation.
However, Oyelade said the Federal Government and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces should provide Nigerians with information on the broader national security response.
“The pushback should be on the federal government and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, who are in charge of national security, on what they have done in 72 hours,” he said.
The commissioner nevertheless reaffirmed Oyo State’s commitment to securing the victims’ release.
“Oyo State government has not and will not abandon its citizens. We will continue to work endlessly and desperately to secure the release of our children,” he said.
Imo Police Confirm Victims Still in Captivity
The Imo State Police Command has confirmed that some of the prospective corps members remain in captivity.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye, said the Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso, had deployed tactical teams and operational assets, in collaboration with other security agencies, to rescue the victims and apprehend the suspected abductors.
According to the police, the two buses involved in the incident had been recovered, while 10 victims were rescued at the scene.
The command said the rescued victims were safe and receiving attention, while the exact number of people still missing was being verified.
Police and other security agencies were also said to be conducting coordinated search-and-rescue operations supported by intelligence-led tracking of the suspects.
The affected section of the expressway has reportedly been reopened, with security personnel remaining deployed to protect commuters.
For the families, however, the immediate priority remains the safe return of their loved ones, as they continue to appeal to the authorities to intensify efforts to end the ordeal and bring the abducted prospective corps members home safely.
