Kidnappers holding 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps members abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Imo State have reduced their ransom demand from N1bn to N100m, as families raised fresh alarm over the alleged brutalisation of the victims.
The abductors, who initially demanded N50m for each of the 20 graduates, have now reduced the demand to N5m per victim.
One of the parents, Alhaja Alimot Akande, disclosed this on Sunday, saying the reduction had done little to ease the anxiety of the families because the victims remained in captivity and were allegedly being beaten by their captors.
“The kidnappers had reduced their demand from the earlier N50m per victim to N5m each. They are still demanding N5m. They have come down to N5m each,” she said.
The prospective corps members were travelling from Ibadan to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states on Thursday when gunmen attacked the two buses conveying them around Umunoha on the Owerri-Onitsha Road.
Akande said the situation became more distressing after the families learnt that the abductors had started assaulting the victims.
“Sir, we appeal to the government at all levels to please assist us in getting them rescued out of that place. They have started beating them since yesterday,” she said.
Asked whether the female victims were also being assaulted, she said, “They are not sparing anybody. They are beating all of them.”
The parent also disclosed that one of the victims had been allowed to speak with his father, but alleged that the kidnappers were monitoring the calls to determine the family’s capacity to pay the ransom.
She said the families were relying on assurances from the police while efforts were being made to raise the money demanded by the abductors.
The parents have also disputed claims that 10 of the passengers were rescued by security operatives after the attack, insisting that those who escaped did so by fleeing into the bush.
The victims include Makinde Mary Oluwapelumi, Akande Kehinde Morufat, Abdul Temiloluwa Sarah, Adeniran Mariam Olulola, Adefioye Ayomide Isaac, Adewale Paul Iyanuoluwa and Oyede Esther Funmilayo.
Meanwhile, security agencies said they were closing in on the kidnappers.
The Imo State Police Command spokesman, DSP Henry Okoye, said on Sunday that an operation was underway to rescue the victims.
“We’re conducting the operation and gradually closing in. We will keep you posted,” he said.
The Public Relations Officer of the 34 Artillery Brigade, Owerri, Major Hashimu Abdullahi, also said the Army and other security agencies were working together to secure the victims’ release.
The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso, had earlier disclosed that security operatives had identified the suspected kidnappers’ camp using drones but were unable to immediately move in because intelligence indicated that the location had been planted with improvised explosive devices.
He said security forces were preparing to enter the area with bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers to facilitate the rescue operation.
The abduction has triggered widespread condemnation and renewed calls for a review of the NYSC scheme.
The African Democratic Congress called for the suspension of the scheme for one year to enable the Federal Government to reorganise it and strengthen security arrangements for corps members.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the NYSC remained important to national unity but argued that its current structure exposed young Nigerians to unacceptable risks.
Similarly, the National Democratic Congress, Labour Party, Social Democratic Party and Young Progressives Party condemned the abduction and demanded the immediate and safe rescue of the victims.
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, also called for the immediate rescue of the abducted graduates, saying protecting lives and property remained the government’s foremost responsibility.
The management of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, said at least three of its graduates were among the abducted victims and appealed for coordinated efforts to secure their release.
The African Action Congress presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, went further, calling for the immediate suspension and eventual scrapping of the NYSC scheme, while urging that corps members be allowed to serve within their states of origin.
The incident has intensified concerns over the safety of young Nigerians travelling to undertake compulsory national service, with political parties and civil society groups demanding stronger intelligence-led security measures along major inter-state routes.
