Terrorists have reportedly hijacked two 18-seater buses and abducted passengers, including 19 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members, along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway in Imo State.
The incident reportedly occurred in the early hours of Wednesday around the Umunoha axis of Mbaitoli Local Government Area.
The two buses were said to be transporting prospective corps members from Ibadan, Oyo State, to different destinations in the South-East, including Uyo in Akwa Ibom State and Bende in Abia State.
A source in the area said the attackers stopped the vehicles and took the passengers into the bush before security personnel arrived at the scene.
The victims had reportedly left the Samonda area of Ibadan on Wednesday morning and travelled towards the South-East. According to accounts from relatives, one of the buses stopped after Onitsha during the night before continuing its journey around 4:30am.
A relative of one of the victims said families had been monitoring the travellers’ movements when they suddenly received a brief message indicating that kidnappers had attacked the vehicle.
Attempts to contact the passengers afterwards were unsuccessful, according to the family.
The relative said one of the victims was a twin who was travelling to Abia State for the NYSC programme, while the other twin was heading to Enugu. A video and images from inside one of the vehicles were reportedly received by relatives, helping them confirm that the bus had been attacked.
According to the account, the driver of the first vehicle escaped, while five passengers from the second bus were reportedly taken away after other occupants and the driver managed to escape.
The incident has left families seeking the intervention of the Federal Government, security agencies and the NYSC management to secure the release of the abducted prospective corps members.
The affected passengers were travelling to commence their national service when the attack occurred, turning what was expected to be a journey towards their service assignments into a kidnapping incident.
Security agencies had yet to provide a detailed account of the operation or confirm the identities and exact number of those abducted at the time of the report.