NYSC kidnap: IED threat stalls rescue operation

Security agencies have delayed an immediate advance on the suspected hideout of kidnappers holding prospective National Youth Service Corps members in Imo State after intelligence indicated that the camp had been mined with improvised explosive devices.

The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso, disclosed on Saturday that operatives had located the suspected camp where the victims were being held but could not immediately move in because of the IED threat.

He said security personnel trailed the kidnappers into the bush and deployed drones on Friday, which pinpointed the suspected location.

“Any moment, we’ll still move into the bush. Yesterday, we were in the bush, we trailed them up to a particular location.

“But at that point in time, we couldn’t move in to where the coordinate showed us they are because we ran drones yesterday. And the drone actually showed us exactly their location.

“But our predicament is that with the intel we have, the camp is mined with IEDs,” Bosso said.

The police commissioner said security agencies were preparing to deploy bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers in the operation.

We are moving in there with high-velocity vehicles, that is, bulldozers. We’re moving in with bulldozers and APCs to see how we’re going to rescue these victims unhurt,” he added.

The police spokesperson, Henry Okoye, also told Sunday PUNCH that security operatives were “closing in on the kidnappers,” adding that personnel deployed for the operation had been briefed on how to proceed.

The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, had earlier deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Nadada, and two commissioners of police to Imo State to strengthen the rescue operation.

Nadada arrived in the state on Friday and reviewed the personnel, strategy and operational assets deployed for the search-and-rescue mission.

The graduates were travelling in two buses from Ibadan, Oyo State, to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when gunmen attacked the vehicles along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State, on Thursday.

The attack has generated conflicting accounts over the number of passengers abducted and those subsequently rescued.

Parents puncture rescue claim

Meanwhile, parents of the prospective corps members have disputed claims by security agencies that 10 passengers were rescued after the attack.

The distraught parents told Sunday PUNCH that the 10 passengers reported as rescued by the police actually escaped from the kidnappers by fleeing into the bush during the attack.

They maintained that 20 prospective corps members were in captivity as of Saturday, raising questions over earlier accounts of the incident by security agencies.

The Imo State Police Command had announced shortly after the attack that 10 victims had been rescued following the intervention of security agencies.

Okoye said at the time that the exact number of persons abducted was still being verified.

However, the parents challenged the rescue account on Saturday during a visit to the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, at his private residence in Bodija, Ibadan.

Speaking through two parents, Alhaja Alimot Akande and Oyebola Akande, the families said 30 passengers were travelling in the two buses when the gunmen struck.

According to them, 10 passengers managed to escape through the bush while 20 others were taken away by the kidnappers.

Alhaja Akande said the families first learnt of the attack through a social media post by one of those who escaped.

She said, “I rushed to the bus terminal at Samonda, Ibadan, but the management of the transport company did not cooperate with us. We demanded the manifest to ascertain the identities of the passengers on board the two buses but they declined.

“After persistent pressure being mounted by the grieving parents, they brought out a paper, but we discovered the names of some of the affected corps members were not on their list.

“When we inquired further, the response was that the majority of them refused to put their names on the paper.

“We have asked them to produce the drivers of the two vehicles who managed to escape the attacks, but they declined as well.”

The parents’ account contrasts with the initial statement by the Imo State Police Command that 10 victims were rescued at the scene.

The police had said the two buses were recovered following a swift response by security agencies and that the 10 rescued victims were safe and receiving attention.

The Defence Headquarters also subsequently said 20 passengers were abducted and that 10 people, including eight prospective corps members, were rescued following the intervention of troops and other security agencies.

The conflicting accounts have further complicated efforts to establish the exact number of prospective corps members still being held.

Parents face N1bn deadline

Anxiety also heightened among the families following a 24-hour ultimatum issued by the kidnappers for the payment of N50m for each of the 20 victims, amounting to N1bn.

The deadline is expected to expire today (Sunday).

The parents said the abductors threatened to harm their children if the ransom was not paid within the stipulated period.

They said the kidnappers contacted families using the mobile telephones of the abducted graduates and gave them 24 hours to produce the money.

“They have been calling us since yesterday (Friday) with a demand for N50m ransom each. They are threatening that anything untoward will happen to our children if we fail to heed their request,” Akande added.

“There is no way we can raise such an amount at this period. Baba, kindly assist us. Don’t let them kill our children.”

The parents appealed to the Olubadan, the Oyo State Government and security agencies to intervene urgently before the deadline elapsed.

Alhaja Akande said she remained in contact with her daughter until Wednesday night when the travellers stopped during the journey.

She said she advised her daughter to sleep inside the bus because of the prevailing security situation.

“They continued the journey on Thursday but they couldn’t reach their destination as they were waylaid by the gunmen.

“The kidnappers established a link with the family on Thursday. They are demanding N50m ransom for each corps member. They have given us 24 hours ultimatum to make the payment or else something serious will happen.

“Kabiyesi, I don’t have that amount. That is why we are here. Kindly assist us,” she pleaded.

The ransom figure also reflects one of the discrepancies surrounding the attack.

Saturday PUNCH had earlier reported that the Managing Director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited, Isiah Akpan, said 19 passengers were abducted, putting the ransom demand at N950m at N50m per victim.

The parents, however, insisted on Saturday that 20 graduates remained with the kidnappers, bringing the demand to N1bn.

Olubadan assures parents

Addressing the distraught parents the Olubadan assured them that efforts were being made to bring the graduates home safely.

“The police are working round the clock to secure their rescue. Don’t worry yourself, the police are up to the task, and nothing will happen to your children,” Ladoja said.

The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, who was also at the meeting, said he had been communicating with his Imo State counterpart since the incident.

“And he assured me that the victims would be rescued unhurt,” he added.

The Oyo State Government had earlier condemned the abduction and said Governor Seyi Makinde directed that necessary resources be deployed to support efforts to secure the victims’ release.

The government said it was liaising with the Imo State Government, security agencies and the NYSC leadership over the incident.

Mother takes case to prayer mountain

As security agencies continued their operation, one of the victims’ mothers told Sunday PUNCH that she had resorted to prayers while the family struggled to raise the money demanded by the kidnappers.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the woman said she was on a prayer mountain seeking divine intervention for her son.

“I’m currently on a prayer mountain, praying for his release, while the family has been running helter-skelter to raise the money,” she said.

She said the family had not been able to sleep since learning about the abduction.

According to her, her last conversation with her son was during a stopover on the journey before the travellers continued towards their destinations.

The mother said the family expected him to call the following morning but became worried when his telephone could no longer be reached.

“We were still hoping that it was a network issue and that he would call us back,” she added.

She said the family eventually learnt about the abduction from one of her son’s friends.

We cannot stop our children from going to serve in other states; it is part of the adventure. But the security of the lives of citizens is the responsibility of the government,” she said.

Journey from Ibadan ends in captivity

Saturday PUNCH had reported that the two buses operated by Uko Akwa Ibom Motors, left the Bodija/Samonda Park in Ibadan on Wednesday.

The Managing Director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited, Akpan, had said heavy traffic around Benin, Edo State, delayed the vehicles before they eventually reached the Onitsha axis late that day.

The passengers and drivers spent the night in the area before resuming the journey at about 5am on Thursday.

According to Akpan, gunmen emerged shortly after the buses entered Imo State, blocked the vehicles and marched passengers into the bush.

The drivers escaped and alerted security personnel at a nearby checkpoint, triggering the search-and-rescue operation.

The latest abduction adds to a series of attacks involving corps members and prospective corps members travelling across the country.

Sowore seeks NYSC scrapping

Reacting to the incident on Saturday, the African Action Congress presidential candidate for the 2027 election, Omoyele Sowore, called for the immediate suspension and eventual scrapping of the NYSC scheme.

Sowore said the abduction had again raised questions about requiring young Nigerians to travel long distances for compulsory national service.

He argued that the scheme had “outlived its usefulness in its present form” and proposed that corps members should, in the interim, be allowed to serve within their states of origin.

He also proposed replacing the NYSC with a voluntary National Job Corps focused on employment, skills development, public works, technology, agriculture, healthcare and education.