KIDNAPPERS holding 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members have issued a 24-hour ultimatum for their families to raise N1 billion ransom, heightening fears over the safety of the abducted graduates as security agencies race to locate their hideout.
The victims were among prospective corps members travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their various NYSC orientation camps when gunmen attacked two buses along the Owerri-Onitsha Road at Umunoha in Imo State on Thursday.
The abductors are demanding N50 million for each victim, bringing the total ransom to N1 billion.
Families of the victims disclosed the latest demand on Saturday when they visited the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, at his private residence in Bodija, Ibadan. They were accompanied by the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, and the Aseyin of Iseyinland, Oba Sefiu Adeyeri.
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According to representatives of the affected families, the kidnappers have been contacting them through the mobile phones of the abducted prospective corps members.
They said the gunmen had threatened to harm the victims if the ransom was not raised within the deadline.
The families told Ladoja that raising N1 billion within 24 hours was beyond their means and appealed for urgent intervention to secure the victims’ release.
The demand places additional pressure on security agencies, particularly as the operation to rescue the graduates appears to be facing significant tactical challenges.
The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Garba Bosso, said security operatives had deployed drones and gathered intelligence that helped identify the suspected location where the victims were being held.
However, the planned operation was delayed after intelligence indicated that improvised explosive devices had been planted around the suspected camp.
The development raises the danger facing security personnel attempting to storm the location and could complicate efforts to secure the victims before the kidnappers’ deadline expires.
The Oyo State police commissioner said he had remained in contact with his Imo counterpart over the incident and was assured that efforts were underway to rescue the victims alive.
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has also deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Nadada, to Imo State to coordinate the search-and-rescue operation.
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The reported ransom demand also underscores the financial dimension of Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis, with the abductors seeking an amount that individual families would be unable to raise within such a short period.
Beyond the immediate threat to the 20 graduates, the incident has renewed concerns about the security of young Nigerians travelling to NYSC orientation camps, particularly across routes affected by armed attacks and kidnapping.
Security experts say the immediate priority is securing the victims before the 24-hour deadline expires. Any delay in the rescue operation could increase the uncertainty surrounding the fate of the abducted graduates, while an attempt to raid the suspected camp carries its own risks if the intelligence about explosives is confirmed.
