N25m Ransom Demanded For Abducted Corps Members

​ABEOKUTA — Panic and despair have gripped the families of ten travelers, including nine members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and their driver, who were abducted along the notorious Ijebu-Ode–Ibadan road in Ogun State.

​The victims were ambushed and dragged into the forest around 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday while traveling from Ijebu-Ode toward Ibadan. According to a survivor who managed to escape, the driver had abruptly veered off the main highway into a bush path to bypass traffic, ignoring frantic warnings from passengers before armed men descended on the vehicle, firing shots and injuring at least one person.

​The kidnappers have since established contact, scaling up their initial monetary demand from N20 million to N25 million, while issuing a stringent deadline for payment.

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​One of the abducted victims is Dapo, a newly discharged corps member who had just wrapped up his national service in Edo State weeks prior. His sister, Abigeal, recounted that the family received a harrowing phone call using Dapo’s mobile device, during which they briefly heard his tearful voice before the captors seized the line to bark out their ultimatums.

​While the police and local vigilante teams have reportedly combed parts of the dense forest, distressed relatives have launched desperate public appeals to federal and state authorities, pleading for urgent security intervention to rescue the victims before the expiration of the ultimatum.