Kidnappers of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted in Imo State have demanded a total ransom of ₦1 billion for their release.
The victims were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their respective NYSC orientation camps when gunmen attacked two buses along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State, on Thursday.
According to the victims’ parents, the kidnappers gave them 24 hours to raise the ransom, demanding ₦50 million for each person.
The parents disclosed this on Saturday during a visit to the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, in Bodija, Ibadan.
Speaking on behalf of the affected families, Alhaja Akande and Oyebola Akande said the kidnappers had been contacting them through the mobile phones of some of the abducted corps members.
They said the kidnappers threatened to harm the victims if the ransom was not paid.
The parents appealed to Ladoja and the police to intervene and secure the safe release of their children.
Ladoja assured the families that efforts were underway to rescue the victims unharmed.
The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, said he had contacted his Imo State counterpart over the incident and was assured that the victims would be rescued safely.
Meanwhile, the Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Garba Bosso, said security operatives had located the suspected kidnappers’ camp using drones.
Bosso, however, said the rescue operation had been delayed because intelligence indicated that the camp was allegedly planted with improvised explosive devices.
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Nadada, to Imo State to coordinate the search-and-rescue operation.
