By TheDailyNewsHub News Desk | October 4, 2026
Families of prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted while travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their orientation camps are facing renewed anxiety after their captors reportedly reduced the ransom demand from ₦50 million to ₦5 million for each victim.
The 20 graduates were reportedly seized on Thursday, October 1, when gunmen attacked two buses conveying passengers along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in the Umunoha area of Mbaitoli Local Government Area, Imo State.
The victims were travelling to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when the attack occurred. The incident was confirmed by the Imo State Police Command, which said the operation to locate the attackers and recover those abducted was underway.
The initial ransom demand was disclosed by relatives who said the kidnappers had contacted them through the phones of some of the victims. The families told journalists that the abductors demanded ₦50 million for each person, bringing the reported total to ₦1 billion for 20 victims.
However, in an update published on Sunday, October 4, Vanguard quoted Alhaja Alimot Akande, a relative of one of the abducted graduates, as saying the demand had been reduced to ₦5 million per victim.
Akande said the kidnappers had also allegedly assaulted the captives, including female victims. She appealed to the authorities to intensify efforts to secure their release, describing the situation facing the families as frightening.
The allegations of physical assault have not been independently verified by security authorities.
The rescue operation has also encountered a significant security challenge. Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso, told Channels Television that security operatives had used drone surveillance to identify the location where the victims were believed to be held.
However, he said intelligence indicated that improvised explosive devices (IEDs) had been planted around the suspected camp, making it dangerous for officers to move in.
Bosso said the police were preparing to use additional equipment, including bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers, to support the operation and reach the victims safely.
The Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Umar Nadada, was also deployed to Imo State by Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu to coordinate the security response. Nadada assured families that additional operational resources and tactical teams had been mobilised.
The number of people initially taken during the attack has, however, been subject to differing accounts. In its first statement on October 1, the Imo State Police Command said 10 victims had been rescued following the intervention of security agencies, adding that it was still verifying the exact number of people abducted.
Subsequent reports from families and the transport operator identified 20 prospective corps members as being in captivity. Channels Television also reported that the passenger manifest listed 30 people across the two buses, while noting that the number actually abducted and the identities of those rescued had not been fully clarified.
The police have not publicly provided a final reconciliation of the passenger figures and rescue numbers in the updates reviewed.
The Managing Director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited, Isiah Akpan, whose company operated the buses, had earlier said the vehicles departed from Bodija/Samonda Park in Ibadan on Wednesday. They reportedly stopped overnight around Oba, Anambra State, before continuing their journey early Thursday morning.
According to Akpan, the attackers intercepted the buses shortly after they entered Imo State and forced passengers into the surrounding bush.
The abduction has prompted appeals from the victims’ families for urgent government intervention. Some relatives visited the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, at his residence in Bodija, Ibadan, on Saturday, seeking assistance.
The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, and the Aseyin of Iseyinland, Oba Sefiu Adeyeri, were also present during the meeting. Ladoja assured the families that efforts were being made to secure the victims’ safe return.
The Oyo State Government has also condemned the incident and said it was working with the Imo State Government and security agencies. Commissioner for Information Prince Dotun Oyelade said the state was maintaining contact with relevant authorities and drawing on experience from previous kidnapping incidents to support the rescue effort.
The attack has renewed concerns about the safety of young Nigerians travelling long distances to begin their mandatory national service. Prospective corps members are often required to travel from their states of residence to designated orientation camps, making safe transport and effective security along major highways important issues.
For the affected families, the immediate priority remains the safe recovery of their relatives. Police authorities have said investigations are ongoing and that efforts to reach the suspected hideout are continuing.