Parents of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps members abducted while travelling to their orientation camps have said their children’s captors have demanded N1bn ransom and issued a 24-hour deadline for payment.
The parents made the disclosure on Saturday when they visited the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, at his private residence in Bodija, Ibadan, accompanied by the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, and the Aseyin of Iseyinland, Oba Sefiu Adeyeri.
The 20 graduates were reportedly travelling from Ibadan to their respective NYSC orientation camps on Thursday when gunmen intercepted the two buses conveying them along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State.
The kidnappers were said to have demanded N50m for each victim, bringing the total ransom to N1bn.
Speaking on behalf of the affected families, Alhaja Akande and Oyebola Akande said the abductors had been contacting them through the mobile phones of the kidnapped prospective corps members.
“They have been calling us since yesterday (Friday) with a demand for N50m ransom each. They are threatening that anything untoward will happen to our children if we fail to heed to their request.
“There is no way we can raise such an amount at this period. Baba, kindly assist us. Don’t let them kill our children,” they pleaded.
The parents appealed to the Olubadan and the police authorities to intervene and ensure the safe and immediate release of their children.
Responding, Ladoja assured the families that efforts were being made to secure the victims’ release without harm.
“I want to assure that your children would be rescued unharmed. We will relate whatever information we gather to you. The police are working round the clock to secure their rescue. Don’t worry yourself, police are up to the task, and nothing would happen to your children,” he said.
The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Abimbola, said he had been in contact with his Imo State counterpart over the incident.
“I had already contacted Imo State CP. We have been talking since the day of the incident, and he assured me that the victims would be rescued unhurt,” he said.
The commissioner, however, did not disclose whether any ransom had been paid or provide details of the ongoing rescue efforts.
Meanwhile, security agencies have intensified operations to locate and rescue the abducted prospective corps members.
The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Garba Bosso, said on Saturday that security operatives had identified the suspected location where the remaining victims were being held through drone surveillance.
Bosso, however, said the planned operation had been delayed following intelligence that the area had been planted with improvised explosive devices.
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.
