IMO ABDUCTION: ABDUCTORS DEMAND N950M RANSOM FOR 19

The abduction of prospective National Youth Service Corps members travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom has taken a more troubling turn, with the kidnappers reportedly demanding N950 million for the release of 19 victims.

The demand amounts to N50 million for each person. The victims were travelling in two buses operated by Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited when gunmen reportedly intercepted the vehicles along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in the Umunoha area of Imo State.

ValidViewNetwork reports that the ransom demand was disclosed by Isiah Akpan, managing director of the transport company, and separately corroborated by relatives who said abductors contacted them using the phones of some of the victims.

HOW THE JOURNEY TURNED INTO A KIDNAP

Akpan said the two buses left Bodija/Samonda Park in Ibadan on Wednesday. The journey was delayed by heavy traffic around Benin, Edo State, before the buses eventually reached Onitsha, Anambra State.

Because of the road condition and the late hour, the drivers and passengers reportedly spent the night in Oba. They resumed the journey at about 5am on Thursday.

Akpan said the buses had barely entered Imo State when gunmen emerged from the bush and blocked them.

“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.

FAMILIES RECEIVE PHONE CALLS

The ransom demand has moved the crisis directly into the homes of the victims’ families. One parent told reporters that abductors contacted her through her son’s phone.

“The kidnappers called with my son’s phone this morning (Friday) and demanded N50 million for his release. The N50 million is for only my son,” she said.

Another mother, Mrs Oladosu, said her daughter, Greatness, was travelling to Uyo when she was abducted. She said the kidnappers used her daughter’s phone to contact the family.

According to her, the family was able to see Greatness and other victims during a video call. “They used my daughter’s number to call us. We saw her and other corps members sitting on the ground in the bush, crying,” she said.

She questioned how ordinary families could raise N50 million each. “They are just going to serve Nigeria; why this punishment?” she asked.

EARLIER RESCUE REPORT

The Imo State Police Command had earlier announced that 10 victims had been rescued after the attack.

Police spokesman Henry Okoye said security agencies were pursuing the abductors and conducting a coordinated search.

However, police could not immediately establish whether those rescued were among the prospective corps members.

This is important because reports about the number of victims have varied.

An earlier police deployment report referred to 20 prospective corps members and other passengers, while the latest ransom reports from the transport company and relatives refer to 19 corps members.

ValidViewNetwork reports that the discrepancy has not been fully resolved publicly, and the 19-person figure in the ransom report should therefore be attributed to the transport company and affected families rather than presented as an independently established final figure.

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SEARCH OPERATION

Akpan also alleged that the security response was initially slowed when some villagers prevented security personnel from moving the abandoned buses from the scene.

The two vehicles were eventually left at the location, with passengers’ belongings reportedly scattered inside. Police and military personnel have continued efforts to locate those still missing.

The Oyo State Government has also said it is engaging security agencies, the Imo State Government and NYSC authorities over the incident.

THE HUMAN COST

The victims were graduates travelling to begin their mandatory national service.Their journey was supposed to end at orientation camps.

Instead, families are now waiting for security agencies to locate their relatives while facing reported ransom demands running into hundreds of millions of naira.

ValidViewNetwork reports that the immediate priority remains the safe recovery of the abducted graduates, while security agencies work to establish the exact number of missing persons, trace the kidnappers and determine the circumstances surrounding the attack.