BREAKING: 20 Kidnapped Prospective Corps Members Regain Freedom In Imo After Security Operation

The 20 prospective corps members and another hostage were reportedly released following the coordinated operation. Twenty prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) who were kidnapped while travelling to their orientation camps in Imo State have regained their freedom, SaharaReporters has learnt. The victims, who were abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State, were reportedly rescued during an intelligence-led operation involving the military, Department of State Services (DSS), police and other security agencies. The 20 prospective corps members and another hostage were reportedly released following the coordinated operation. The rescued victims are currently receiving medical attention at a DSS facility, according to reports. The development comes four days after SaharaReporters reported that the abductors had demanded a total ransom of N1 billion from the families of the 20 victims. The prospective corps members were abducted on October 1 when gunmen attacked two buses conveying them from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their respective NYSC orientation camps in the South-East. The abductors reportedly demanded N50 million for each victim and threatened to harm them if the families failed to meet the demand. The families had disclosed the ransom demand on October 3 when they visited the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, at his private residence in Bodija, Ibadan, alongside the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, and the Aseyin of Iseyinland, Oba Sefiu Adeyeri. 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 graduates. “They have been calling us since yesterday (Friday) with a demand for N50m ransom each. They are threatening that anything untoward will happen to our children if we fail to heed to their request,” the parents had said. They appealed to the Olubadan and the police to intervene urgently, expressing fears over the threats issued by the kidnappers. Responding, Ladoja had assured the families that security agencies were working to rescue the victims unharmed. “I want to assure that your children would 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, police are up to the task, and nothing would happen to your children,” he said. The Oyo State Commissioner of Police had also disclosed that he was in contact with his Imo counterpart, Audu Garba Bosso, over the abduction. “I had already contacted Imo State CP. We have been talking since the day of incident, and he assured me that the victims would be rescued unhurt,” Abimbola said. The Imo State Police Command had earlier disclosed that security operatives identified the suspected kidnappers' hideout using drones. However, Bosso said the rescue operation had been delayed by intelligence indicating that the area had been planted with improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, had also deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Nadada, to Imo State to coordinate the search-and-rescue operation. The successful rescue brings an end to days of uncertainty for the families, who had feared for the safety of the graduates preparing to begin their mandatory one-year national service. Details of the rescue operation, including whether any arrests were made or whether any ransom was paid, were not immediately available.