NYSC abduction: Gunmen demand N950m ransom for kidnapped PCMs

Families of 19 prospective National Youth Service Corps members abducted while travelling to their orientation camps have been thrown into panic after the kidnappers reportedly demanded a total ransom of N950m for their release.

The graduates were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, in two buses when gunmen attacked them along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in the Umunoha area of Imo State on Thursday.

The Managing Director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited, Isiah Akpan, whose company operates the buses, confirmed the incident and said the abductors had demanded N50m for each victim.

The passengers were reportedly heading to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.

Akpan said the two buses departed from Bodija/Samonda Park in Ibadan on Wednesday but were delayed by heavy traffic around Benin, Edo State. They later arrived in Onitsha, Anambra State, where the poor condition of the road prevented them from continuing their journey that night.

The drivers and passengers therefore spent the night in Oba before resuming the journey around 5am on Thursday.

According to Akpan, the buses had barely entered Imo State when armed men emerged from the bush, blocked both vehicles and forced 19 passengers into the bush.

The drivers reportedly escaped and alerted security personnel at a nearby checkpoint, after which police and military personnel began searching the area.

Akpan, however, said the operation was initially delayed when some villagers allegedly resisted attempts by security personnel to move the abandoned buses from the scene. The vehicles were eventually left at the location, with some of the passengers’ belongings still inside.

The Imo State Police Command later announced that 10 victims had been rescued. The Police Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye, said security agencies had launched a coordinated operation to locate the remaining abductees, although he could not immediately confirm whether those rescued were among the prospective corps members.

The ransom demand has intensified fears among the victims’ families, with some relatives saying the abductors had contacted them directly.

One parent said the kidnappers used her son’s phone to contact her and demanded N50m specifically for his release.

Another mother, Mrs Oladosu, said her daughter, Greatness, who was travelling to Uyo, was among those taken. She said the abductors briefly contacted the family through her daughter’s phone and allowed them to see Greatness and some other victims during a video call.

Mrs Alimotu Akanke, the mother of another victim, Akande Farouq, also said her son managed to send a brief distress message to the family WhatsApp group before his phone became unreachable.

Farouq was reportedly posted to Abia State.

A manifest from the two buses contained 30 passengers, with 15 listed for each vehicle. Two other buses operated by the same company and travelling towards Abia reportedly escaped the attack.

Friends and associates of some of the abducted graduates have also launched social media campaigns seeking public assistance for their rescue. One of the victims identified was Precious Oladipupo, a graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University.

Other names circulated in connection with the incident include Wahab Ayandare and Oyindamola Adeoye, whose friends have appealed for help through social media.

The Oyo State Government has condemned the abduction and said it was working with security agencies, the Imo State Government and the NYSC leadership to secure the victims’ release.

The state Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, said Governor Seyi Makinde had directed the deployment of necessary resources towards rescuing the victims and ensuring their safe return.

The government also urged the affected families to remain calm while calling on security agencies to intensify efforts to locate the abducted graduates and arrest those responsible.

The Imo incident is the latest in a series of attacks involving prospective or serving corps members travelling between states.

Thirty-six days earlier, 15 prospective corps members were abducted along the Aloma-Egane Expressway in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State while travelling from Bayelsa to Abuja. Security forces later rescued the victims and other abductees from Egume Forest.

Other incidents have also been recorded in Abuja, Sokoto, Kogi, Anambra and along the Kaduna-Abuja Expressway.

A 2023 report by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism reportedly recorded at least 80 corps members abducted between 2013 and 2023, while findings cited by Saturday PUNCH indicated that more than 20 corps members had been killed in different attacks between 2015 and 2026.

The repeated incidents have renewed concerns about the safety of graduates travelling to orientation camps and their subsequent deployment to different parts of the country.

Security analyst Chidi Omeje said criminal groups could be taking advantage of the predictable movement of graduates during NYSC mobilisation periods. He called for stronger security arrangements along routes identified as kidnapping corridors.

Security expert Olalekan Jackson-Ojo said the attacks were putting pressure on the national integration objectives of the NYSC scheme. He suggested that graduates could be allowed to serve within their states or regions, particularly where security conditions make interstate deployment risky.

Educationist Dele Olapeju also said repeated abductions were affecting public confidence in the scheme, with some parents increasingly seeking redeployment for their children because of security concerns.

He called for stronger protection of corps members while cautioning against allowing insecurity to undermine the national integration objectives of the NYSC.

The NYSC Director of Public Relations, Caroline Embu, had not responded to enquiries about the latest abduction as of the time of the report.