The families of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted in Imo State are reportedly facing a reduced ransom demand of N5 million per victim after the kidnappers allegedly subjected some of the captives to physical assault.
The graduates were reportedly abducted on Thursday while travelling from Ibadan to their NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.
According to reports, the victims were travelling in two buses when gunmen attacked them along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in the Umunoha area of Imo State.
A relative of one of the victims, Alhaja Alimot Akande, said the abductors initially demanded N50 million for each person but have now reduced the amount to N5 million per victim.
“They are still demanding N5 million. They have come down to N5 million each,” Akande said.
She also alleged that the abductors had begun physically assaulting the captives, including the women among them.
“When I spoke to my sister, they started beating them since yesterday,” she said.
When asked whether the female victims were also being assaulted, Akande reportedly replied: “They are not sparing anybody. They are beating all of them.”
The relative further disclosed that one of the abducted graduates was allowed to speak with his father, although the kidnappers allegedly monitored the conversation to determine whether the family could raise the demanded ransom.
The reported assault has heightened concerns among the families of the victims, who are awaiting their safe return as efforts continue to secure their release.
Meanwhile, the Oyo State Government said it was working with the Imo State Government and security agencies to help secure the victims’ release.
Oyo State Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, said the state government was drawing from its experience in handling the recent abduction in Oriire Local Government Area as it supports efforts to rescue the prospective corps members.
“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,” Oyelade said.
The circumstances surrounding the reported abduction and the alleged treatment of the victims remain subject to ongoing efforts by authorities and security agencies. Families of the affected graduates continue to hope for their safe recovery.
