Parents of 20 Abducted Corps Members Cry Out Over N1bn Ransom Demand

​The peaceful anticipation of national service turned into a harrowing nightmare for twenty families as details emerged regarding the abduction of prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members traveling from Ibadan to their orientation camps. The graduates, who were ambushed along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State, are currently being held by kidnappers demanding an exorbitant ransom of fifty million naira per person, totaling one billion naira.

​Distraught family members, facing a strict twenty-four-hour ultimatum and grave threats against the lives of their children, converged on the private residence of the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, in Bodija. Flanked by the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, and the Aseyin of Iseyinland, Oba Sefiu Adeyeri, the parents made an emotional plea for immediate intervention, stressing their absolute inability to raise the massive sum.

​Oba Ladoja sought to comfort the grieving relatives, assuring them that security networks are actively collaborating to ensure a safe rescue. Meanwhile, the Oyo State Commissioner of Police confirmed ongoing high-level coordination with his counterpart in Imo State to secure the unconditional release of the victims.

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​Transport Firm Under Fire

​Beyond the immediate hostage crisis, mounting outrage has been directed at Eduak King Transport Company, the transit operator that conveyed the corps members from Samonda, Ibadan. Relatives accused company management of gross negligence and insensitivity after reportedly withholding vital passenger logs and next-of-kin contact details when approached for emergency assistance.

​Grieving parents expressed profound shock upon discovering that the transport firm continued its regular daily loading operations despite the calamity, prompting sharp public demands for a formal police investigation and institutional accountability.

​High-Level Police Deployment

​In response to nationwide panic and growing pressure, the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has escalated the security response by deploying the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, DIG Shehu Nadada, directly to Imo State.

​Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Anietie Iniedu, noted that DIG Nadada arrived alongside a high-powered delegation—including multiple Commissioners of Police and specialized tactical commanders—to conduct an immediate on-the-spot assessment and overhaul rescue operations. Security forces have pledged a sustained, multi-agency campaign to hunt down the perpetrators, safely extract the captives, and restore public safety along the volatile transit corridor.