Twenty National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members have been abducted by gunmen along the Owerri–Onitsha Road in the Umunoha community of Mbaitoli Local Government Area, Imo State.
The corps members were reportedly travelling in a commercial bus from Ibadan, Oyo State, to various NYSC orientation camps across the South-East and South-South when armed men intercepted the vehicle.
The incident was confirmed by the Imo State Police Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye, in a telephone conversation with Channels Television.
Okoye said the Commissioner of Police in the state, Audu Bosso, had visited the scene to assess the situation, while security agencies had launched efforts to secure the victims’ safe and unconditional release.
He added that operatives were searching surrounding bushes for the abducted corps members and their captors, with the police Rapid Response Team deployed to track the perpetrators.
The latest incident comes weeks after security forces rescued several people, including NYSC members, who were abducted following an attack on vehicles along the Aloma–Egane Expressway in Kogi State.
The August 26 incident occurred at about 4:40 p.m. around Ogene Zaria, close to the Ogene Zaria–Onicha-Igo Junction, where gunmen reportedly emerged from the bush and blocked two buses travelling in opposite directions.
Some passengers were taken hostage, while others escaped into the surrounding bush.
The victims were later rescued on August 31 by a joint operation involving the police, military, Department of State Services and other security personnel.
According to the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Michael Onoja, the victims were rescued from Egume Forest in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
President Bola Tinubu subsequently commended the security forces involved in the operation, which he said resulted in the rescue of 21 abductees, comprising eight males and 13 females, from the kidnappers’ hideout.
