The Department of State Services (DSS) has arraigned two men accused of abducting four people in Imo State and collecting N8 million for their release.
The defendants, Aminu Haliru, 27, and Tange Ibrahim, 20, also known as Jijji, were arraigned before the Imo State High Court on Tuesday over the alleged kidnapping around Owerri and Mgbidi on October 4, 2026.
According to the prosecution, the defendants and other suspects still at large allegedly abducted the victims and demanded ransom for their release.
The prosecution listed N1.8 million as money recovered in connection with the case. The defendants were also accused of unlawfully possessing an AK-47 rifle and a pump-action gun.
In a separate case, three other men were arraigned over the abduction of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members on October 1, 2026.
The DSS said in a statement on Tuesday that Usman Aliyu, 25, also known as Chonge; Babangida Aliyu, 21; and Mohammed Ali, 23, also known as Smallie Pepper, were accused of abducting the prospective corps members.
The agency stated, “Three of them, Usman Aliyu, twenty-five, also known as Chonge; 21-year-old Babangida Aliyu, and 23-year-old Mohammed Ali aka Smallie Pepper, are specifically charged with the kidnapping of the prospective corps members.”
The three defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit hostage-taking, punishable under Section 6 of the Imo State Prohibition of Hostage Taking and Related Offences Law No. 4 of 2009.
The DSS added, “The defendants were accused of unlawfully possessing three AK-47 rifles, four magazines, a pistol and eighty-one rounds of live ammunition.”
The 20 prospective corps members were travelling from Ibadan to their assigned orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when they were allegedly abducted along the Owerri–Mgbidi–Onitsha Expressway. They were rescued after seven days.
The prosecution listed a DSS investigator and the victims as witnesses in both cases.
The charges remain allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.
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