Parents of prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted while travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their orientation camps have appealed for urgent intervention after the kidnappers demanded N1 billion ransom.
The parents said the abductors gave them 24 hours to pay N50 million for each victim, threatening that the young graduates could be harmed if the demand was not met.
They made the disclosure on Saturday when they visited the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, at his residence in Bodija, Ibadan.
They were accompanied by the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, and the Aseyin of Iseyinland, Oba Sefiu Adeyeri.
The prospective corps members were travelling in two buses operated by Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited when gunmen attacked them along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in the Umunoha area of Mbaitoli Local Government Area, Imo State, on Thursday.
Earlier reports from the transport company indicated that 19 passengers, all prospective corps members, were taken into the bush.
The passengers were travelling to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.
However, parents who visited Ladoja on Saturday referred to 20 abducted prospective corps members and said the kidnappers were demanding N50 million for each victim.
Alhaja Akande and Oyebola Akande, who spoke on behalf of the affected families, said the abductors had been contacting relatives through the mobile phones of the kidnapped graduates.
“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 to their request,” the parents said, appealing for assistance.
They added that the families could not raise such an amount and pleaded with Ladoja to help secure the release of their children.
Responding, Ladoja assured the families that efforts were being made to rescue the victims safely.
He said security agencies were working to secure their release and promised that information gathered during the operation would be communicated to the families.
Abimbola also disclosed that he had been in contact with his Imo State counterpart since the incident occurred.
“I had already contacted Imo State CP. We have been talking since the day of incident, and he assured me that the victims would be rescued unhurt,” he said.
The Oyo police commissioner did not disclose whether any ransom had been paid or provide operational details about the rescue effort.
Meanwhile, the Imo State Police Command said security operatives had located the suspected camp where the remaining victims were being held.
Imo Commissioner of Police, Audu Garba Bosso, said drones were used on Friday after security personnel trailed the abductors into the bush. The aerial surveillance reportedly enabled operatives to identify the location of the suspected camp.
Bosso, however, said security forces had not immediately entered the location because intelligence indicated that the camp might have been planted with improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
He said the police and other security agencies were preparing to move into the area with heavy equipment, including bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers, to facilitate a safe rescue operation.
The development followed an earlier statement by the Imo police that 10 people had been rescued after the attack, although the command said it could not immediately confirm whether those rescued were among the abducted prospective corps members.
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has also deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Nadada, to Imo State to coordinate the search-and-rescue operation.
Security agencies are now working to reach the suspected camp and secure the safe release of the remaining victims, amid heightened anxiety among their families.
