The Imo State Police Command has located the hideout where 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps members and other victims are being held by suspected kidnappers.
The location was identified with the help of drones after security operatives tracked the abductors into the bush.
However, Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Garba Bosso, said the rescue team had been unable to enter the area because intelligence indicated that the route to the camp had been planted with improvised explosive devices.
Bosso said security operatives had tracked the kidnappers to the location but could not advance to the coordinates identified by the drones.
He said the police were preparing to use specialised equipment to create a safe route into the area and rescue the victims.
“We are moving in there with high-velocity vehicles. We are moving with bulldozers and APCs to see how we are going to rescue these victims,” Bosso said.
Diaspora Digital Media reports that the victims were abducted on October 1 after suspected gunmen attacked two buses along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway in the Umunoha area of Mbaitoli Local Government Area, Imo State.
The prospective corps members were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to NYSC orientation camps in the South-East and South-South regions when the buses came under attack.
The development comes as the victims’ families face a ₦1 billion ransom demand, with the abductors reportedly demanding ₦50 million for each of the 20 corps members.
The Nigeria Police Force has since deployed senior officers to coordinate the rescue operation and is working with other security agencies to secure the victims’ release.
