By Ayomide Otitoju
Families of prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members from Oyo State have appealed for government intervention after gunmen abducted passengers travelling to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.
The victims were travelling from Ibadan when gunmen reportedly attacked two buses 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 a ransom of ₦50 million for each victim.
Akpan said the two buses departed Bodija/Samonda Park in Ibadan on Wednesday but were delayed by heavy traffic around Benin, Edo State. The passengers and drivers subsequently spent the night in Oba before continuing their journey at about 5 a.m. on Thursday.
According to him, the buses had barely entered Imo State when gunmen emerged from the bush, blocked the vehicles and took 19 passengers into the bush.
“They blocked the two vehicles and took 19 passengers, all corps members, into the bush,” Akpan said.
He said the drivers escaped and alerted security personnel at a nearby checkpoint, after which police and military personnel launched a search for the abductors.
Akpan said the operation was initially delayed after some villagers allegedly prevented security personnel from moving the abandoned buses from the scene. The vehicles were eventually left at the location, with some passengers’ belongings still inside.
Less than 24 hours after the incident, the Imo State Police Command announced that 10 victims had been rescued. However, it remained unclear whether the rescued persons were among the corps members abducted from the two buses.
The reported ransom demands have heightened anxiety among the victims’ families, with some parents appealing to the state and federal governments to secure the release of their children.
Olawale Olaleke told Channels Television that his son, who was posted to Abia State, was abducted before reaching his destination.
Another parent, Olawale Olalere, appealed to Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and President Bola Tinubu to intervene.
He said the family was informed of the abduction after the vehicle left its overnight stop and that the kidnappers were demanding ₦50 million for each victim.
Mrs Oladosu, whose daughter Greatness was travelling to Uyo, said the kidnappers contacted the family through her daughter’s phone and allowed them to see some of the victims during a video call.
Another victim’s mother, Alimotu Akanke, said her son, Akande Farouq, who was posted to Abia State, managed to send a brief message to the family before communication was lost.
Farouq reportedly sent the word “Kidnappers!” to the family’s WhatsApp group before his phone went off.
Friends and associates of some of the abducted graduates have also launched social media campaigns seeking assistance and calling for their safe release.
A manifest from the two buses reportedly listed 30 passengers, 15 in each vehicle. However, the actual number of people abducted and the identities of those rescued have yet to be fully clarified, as security agencies have not released the transport company’s manifest.
The Oyo State Government has condemned the abduction and assured the victims’ families that efforts were underway to secure their release.
The assurance was given at the state government secretariat when affected families visited to protest the incident.
The Executive Assistant to Governor Makinde on Security, Sunday Odukoya, who received the families, said the governor was working with relevant stakeholders to secure the release of the corps members.
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Henry Okoye, said security agencies were pursuing the abductors and had launched a coordinated operation to rescue the remaining victims.
