Kidnappers torture 20 corps members, slash ransom to N5m each

Kidnappers holding 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in Imo State have allegedly subjected the victims, including women, to physical assault while reducing their ransom demand to N5 million per person.

A relative of one of the victims, Alimot Akande, said the abductors had been beating the victims since Saturday as families struggled to meet the ransom demand.

Akande’s 25-year-old sister, Kehinde, is among the abducted graduates.

Describing the situation as “horrible, scary and overwhelming,” Akande appealed to the government to intensify efforts to rescue the victims.

She said the kidnappers had reduced their initial demand from N50 million to N5 million for each victim.

“They are still demanding N5 million. They have come down to N5 million each,” she said.

Asked whether the demand applied to all 20 victims, she replied: “Yes.”

Akande said her sister informed her that the abductors had started beating the victims.

“Sir, we appeal to the government to please assist us in getting them rescued out of that place. When I spoke to my sister, they started beating them since yesterday,” she said.

She also alleged that the female victims were being assaulted.

“They are not sparing anybody. They are beating all of them,” she said.

According to Akande, one of the abducted corps members was allowed to speak with his father, but the kidnappers monitored the calls to assess the family’s ability to raise the ransom.

She said the families had been relying on assurances from the police while efforts continued to secure the victims’ release.

“The police are telling us to still be buying time. We are still looking for the money. Depending, they will see them rescued,” she said.

Oyo engages Imo, security agencies

Meanwhile, the Oyo State Government said it was working with the Imo State Government and security agencies to secure the release of the abducted graduates.

The state Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, said the government was actively involved in the rescue efforts despite the incident occurring outside Oyo.

Oyelade said the state was drawing on its experience from the recent abduction of students and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area.

“We are in close contacts at government-to-government level and actively with the security apparatus in Oyo and Imo states,” he said.

He added that the state was sharing its experience from the Oriire incident with Imo authorities.

Oyelade, however, said the government would not disclose operational details because of the sensitivity of the rescue effort.

“Governments all over the world are not in the habit of disclosing all they are planning in delicate situations like this,” he said.

The commissioner called on the Federal Government and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to explain the broader national security response to the incident.

“The pushback should be on the Federal Government and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, who are in charge of national security, on what they have done in 72 hours,” he said.

Oyelade said the Oyo Government would continue working to secure the victims’ release.

“Oyo State Government had not and will not abandon its citizens. We will continue to work endlessly and desperately to secure the release of our children,” he said.

How the graduates were abducted

The 20 prospective corps members were abducted on Thursday while travelling from Ibadan to their respective NYSC orientation camps.

The graduates were travelling in two buses when gunmen reportedly attacked them along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State.

The victims were heading to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.

The abduction triggered anxiety among their families after the kidnappers initially demanded N50 million for each victim, amounting to N1 billion, and reportedly gave the families 24 hours to raise the money.

The parents later sought the intervention of the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, during a visit to his residence in Bodija, Ibadan.

The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, and the Aseyin of Iseyinland, Oba Sefiu Adeyeri, accompanied the parents.

The parents appealed to Ladoja to intervene, saying they could not raise the N1 billion ransom.

Ladoja assured them that efforts were being made to secure the victims’ safe release.

“I want to assure that your children would be rescued unharmed. We will relate whatever information we gather to you,” he said.

The Oyo Commissioner of Police also said he had remained in contact with his Imo counterpart since the incident.

“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,” Abimbola said.