The 20 prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) abducted along the Owerri–Onitsha Road in Imo State have regained their freedom after spending seven days in captivity, but conflicting accounts have emerged over how the victims were released.
The corps members were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when gunmen attacked two buses conveying them around Umunoha in Imo State on October 1.
The abductors initially demanded N50 million for each of the 20 victims, putting the total ransom at N1 billion. The demand was later reportedly reduced to N5 million per victim, or about N100 million in total.
Following days of anxiety and negotiations, the victims were released on Wednesday, October 7, and taken to the Department of State Services (DSS) facility in Owerri for medical assessment and care.
Families contradict police account
While the police have attributed the release to sustained search-and-rescue operations involving multiple security agencies, some relatives of the victims have given a different account.
Families said ransom payments were made to secure the freedom of some of the abducted corps members, with individual payments reportedly running into millions of naira.
One mother said she paid N6 million to secure the release of her son, while another relative disclosed that millions of naira were raised and delivered as ransom.
According to the families, the payments followed negotiations with the abductors after the initial N50 million demand per victim was reduced.
One relative was quoted as saying the family had paid its ransom in full and that the release was not the result of a security rescue operations.
Imo CP says he was unaware of ransom payment
The conflicting accounts have further raised questions after the Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso, said he was not aware that any ransom was paid for the release of the corps members.
Speaking on Thursday, Bosso maintained that the victims were freed after security agencies intensified operations and mounted pressure on the kidnappers.
According to him, security operatives located the area where the victims were being held and moved in as part of a coordinated search-and-rescue operation, forcing the kidnappers to flee and leaving the victims behind.
The police position therefore differs sharply from the accounts coming from some of the victims’ families, who insist that ransom negotiations and payments played a role in securing their relatives’ freedom.
The development leaves an important question unanswered: were the corps members rescued solely through security operations, or were some of their families compelled to pay ransom before their release?
For now, the victims are receiving medical attention, while authorities continue efforts to establish the circumstances surrounding the abduction and apprehend those responsible.
The episode has also renewed concerns over the growing threat of kidnapping along major highways and the difficult choices families face when abductors demand ransom for the release of their loved ones.
