20 NYSC Members Remain in Captivity as Kidnappers Cut Ransom Demand
Twenty prospective National Youth Service Corps members abducted in Imo State are reportedly being subjected to physical assault by their captors, as families await their rescue and struggle to meet a reduced ransom demand of ₦5 million per victim.
The graduates were abducted last Thursday while travelling from Ibadan to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states. Gunmen reportedly attacked the vehicles conveying them along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in the Umunoha area of Imo State. Relatives said the kidnappers initially demanded ₦50 million for each of the 20 victims, amounting to ₦1 billion, before reducing the demand to ₦5 million each, bringing the total to ₦100 million. Alimot Akande, whose 25-year-old sister Kehinde is among the victims, said the reduction had not eased the families’ anxiety because the abducted graduates were allegedly being beaten, including the female victims. She appealed to the government and security agencies to intensify efforts to secure their release.
The families have also accused Eduak King Transport Company, which conveyed some of the graduates from Ibadan, of allegedly withholding passengers’ next-of-kin information when they visited its Samonda office seeking assistance. The company was reportedly unavailable for comment when its premises were visited. Meanwhile, the Oyo State Government said it was working with its Imo State counterpart and security agencies to secure the victims’ release, while the Imo State Police Command said tactical teams and other operational assets had been deployed for search-and-rescue operations. Police said some passengers were rescued at the scene and that the exact number of people still in captivity was being verified.
