The Department of State Services (DSS) has arraigned five suspects in connection with the abduction of 20 prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and one civilian along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway in Imo State.
The suspects are being prosecuted before the Imo State High Court sitting in Owerri following their arrest during intelligence-led operations conducted in Rivers and Abia states between October 10 and 14.
The victims were kidnapped on October 1 when armed men attacked two 18-seater buses conveying passengers from Ibadan, Oyo State, to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states. The incident occurred near Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State at about 6:30 a.m.
Imo State Police Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye, had disclosed that 10 victims were rescued shortly after the attack, while security agencies launched search-and-rescue operations for those taken away by the abductors.
According to reports, the kidnappers initially demanded a ransom of N1 billion before reducing the demand to N5 million per victim, amounting to N100 million for the 20 prospective corps members.
On October 7, a joint security team comprising operatives of the DSS, military and police rescued the remaining abductees from the Amakohia-Ubi forest in Imo State after sustained search operations. The rescued victims were subsequently given medical attention.
However, a controversy emerged after Alirat Wahab, mother of one of the rescued corps members, told News Central Television that her family paid N6 million to secure her son’s release. The claim appeared to contradict the official account of the rescue operation. Wahab and her husband, Obasanjo, later disclosed that the funds contributed by their family towards the ransom had been refunded.
Following the successful rescue, security operatives intensified efforts to track down members of the kidnapping syndicate, leading to the arrest of the five suspects in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and Aba, Abia State.
Security sources said three additional suspects escaped during the operations with gunshot wounds. A manhunt has been launched to apprehend the fleeing suspects and other members of the gang.
