Families In Distress As Abducted Prospective NYSC Members Face ₦950m Ransom Demand

Families of 19 graduates abducted while travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation camps have been thrown into distress following a ransom demand of ₦950 million for their release.

According to Bush Radio Academy, the victims were travelling to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when gunmen reportedly attacked their buses along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in the Umunoha area of Imo State.

The Managing Director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited, Isiah Akpan, confirmed that the abductors demanded ₦50 million for each of the 19 victims.

Akpan explained that the two buses had departed from Bodija/Samonda Park in Ibadan on Wednesday but encountered significant traffic around Benin, Edo State. The buses eventually reached Onitsha, Anambra State, late in the day, forcing the passengers and drivers to spend the night in Oba because of the road conditions.

He said the journey resumed around 5am the following day, but the buses had barely entered Imo State when armed men emerged from the surrounding bush and abducted the passengers.

According to Akpan, the drivers managed to escape and alerted security personnel at a nearby checkpoint, after which police and military personnel launched a search operation. However, he alleged that the operation was initially delayed when some villagers prevented security personnel from removing the abandoned buses from the area.

The buses were eventually left at the scene, with the passengers’ belongings reportedly scattered inside. Akpan said the gunmen took all 19 passengers, who were prospective corps members, into the bush.

The abduction has left families struggling to raise the huge ransom demanded by the kidnappers. One parent said the abductors contacted her using her son’s phone and demanded ₦50 million for his release.

Another parent, Mrs Oladosu, whose daughter Greatness was travelling to Uyo, said the abductors briefly contacted the family using her daughter’s phone. She said the family was able to see Greatness and some of the other victims during a video call, with the abducted graduates reportedly seen sitting on the ground in the bush.

The incident has heightened anxiety among the affected families, who are appealing for the safe rescue of their loved ones as security agencies continue efforts to locate the victims and apprehend those responsible.