The parents of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members kidnapped while travelling from Oyo State to their orientation camps have said their abductors gave them 24 hours to pay a ₦1bn ransom for their release.
The parents disclosed this on Saturday when they visited the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, at his private residence in Bodija, Ibadan, alongside the state Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, and the Aseyin of Iseyinland, Oba Sefiu Adeyeri.
The Telegraph reports that the 20 graduates were travelling from Ibadan to their NYSC orientation camps on Thursday when gunmen attacked the two buses conveying them along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State.
The abductors reportedly demanded ₦50 million for each victim, amounting to ₦1 billion in total.
The Managing Director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited, Isiah Akpan, had confirmed the ransom demand to The Telegraph on Friday.
Speaking on behalf of the affected families, Alhaja Akande and Oyebola Akande said the abductors had been contacting them through the mobile phones of the kidnapped prospective corps members.
“They have been calling us since yesterday (Friday) with a demand for ₦50 million ransom each. They are threatening that anything untoward will happen to our children if we fail to heed their request.
“There is no way we can raise such an amount at this period. Baba, kindly assist us. Don’t let them kill our children,” the parents said.
The parents appealed to Ladoja and the police commissioner to intervene and secure the immediate release of their children.
Responding, Ladoja assured the parents that efforts were underway to rescue the victims unharmed.
“I want to assure you that your children will be rescued unharmed. We will relate whatever information we gather to you. The police are working round the clock to secure their rescue. Don’t worry yourself; the police are up to the task, and nothing will happen to your children,” he said.
Also speaking, the State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, said he had contacted his counterpart in Imo State over the incident.
“I had already contacted the Imo State CP. We have been talking since the day of the incident, and he assured me that the victims would be rescued unhurt,” he said.
The police commissioner did not disclose whether any ransom had been paid or provide details of the ongoing rescue operations.
The latest development came as security agencies intensified efforts to rescue the abducted prospective corps members.
The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Garba Bosso, said on Saturday that security operatives had located the suspected camp where the remaining victims were being held using drones.
However, he said the operation had been delayed because intelligence indicated that the camp had been planted with improvised explosive devices.
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has also deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Nadada, to Imo State to coordinate the search-and-rescue operation.
