Kidnappers holding 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps members in Imo State have reduced their ransom demand from ₦1bn to ₦100m.
Diaspora Digital Media reports that the abductors initially demanded ₦50m for each victim but have now reduced the amount to ₦5m per person, according to the victims’ parents.
The prospective corps members were travelling from Ibadan to their NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when gunmen attacked two buses around Umunoha on the Owerri-Onitsha Road on Thursday.
However, the reduction in ransom has not eased the families’ concerns, as the parents alleged that the captives were being beaten by their abductors.
One of the parents, Alhaja Alimot Akande, said the kidnappers had been physically assaulting the victims since Friday.
“They are not sparing anybody. They are beating all of them,” she said.
Akande appealed to the Federal Government and security agencies to urgently rescue the victims.
She also disclosed that one of the abducted corps members had been allowed to speak with his father, but alleged that the kidnappers were monitoring the calls to determine whether the family could raise the ransom.
The parents also disputed reports that 10 passengers were rescued by security operatives after the attack, saying those who escaped did so by running into the bush.
The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, said he had contacted his Imo counterpart and that efforts were ongoing to secure the victims’ safe rescue.
The Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, also assured the parents that their children would be rescued unharmed.
Meanwhile, the African Democratic Congress has called for the temporary suspension of the NYSC scheme for one year to allow the Federal Government to reorganise the programme and strengthen security measures.
ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the scheme remained important for national unity but argued that the current security situation required urgent reforms.
He said the government should use the period to review the programme and improve protection for corps members.
Abdullahi also criticised the Federal Government’s handling of insecurity, arguing that security personnel were not adequately equipped to protect Nigerians.
He questioned how the abductors were able to intercept 20 prospective corps members despite the known security risks along the route.
The ADC spokesman said the incident showed the need for the government to reassess its security strategy and prioritise the safety of Nigerians.
