By Sabiu Abdullahi
Kidnappers holding prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Imo State have reportedly reduced their ransom demand from N50 million to N5 million per victim.
The revised demand brings the total ransom being sought for the 20 abducted graduates from N1 billion to N100 million, according to information from the victims’ families.
The development came as relatives of the victims raised concerns over their safety, alleging that the abductors had subjected some of the captives to physical assault.
One of the affected parents, Alhaja Alimot Akande, said the kidnappers had reduced the demand but that the families remained deeply concerned about the condition of their children.
“The kidnappers had reduced their demand from the earlier N50m per victim to N5m each,” she said.
“They are still demanding N5m. They have come down to N5m each.”
The prospective corps members were travelling from Ibadan to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when gunmen attacked the two buses along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Imo State on Thursday.
The victims included graduates whose names were released by their parents during a visit to the residence of the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, in Bodija, Ibadan.
Among those identified were Makinde Mary Oluwapelumi, Akande Kehinde Morufat, Abdul Temiloluwa Sarah, Adeniran Mariam Olulola, Adefioye Ayomide Isaac, Adewale Paul Iyanuoluwa and Oyede Esther Funmilayo.
The parents also disputed earlier claims that 10 passengers had been rescued by security operatives, saying those who escaped the attackers did so by running into the bush.
Akande said she could not confirm how much had been raised by the families towards the ransom because she was not involved in the arrangements between the abductors and the other parents.
“I cannot say because I do not know how much they have told those people that they have,” she said.
Describing the ordeal, she said, “It has been horrible, scary and overwhelming.”
She added that the situation became more distressing after the families learnt that the captives were allegedly being beaten.
“Sir, we appeal to the government at all levels to please assist us in getting them rescued out of that place. They have started beating them since yesterday,” she said.
Asked whether the female victims were also being assaulted, Akande said:
“They are not sparing anybody. They are beating all of them,” she said.
She further alleged that one of the victims had been allowed to speak with his father, with the kidnappers using the communication to assess the family’s ability to pay the ransom.
“The abductors would alert the victim whenever his father’s call came in and allow him to speak because they believed the father could provide the ransom. His father has been communicating with him. The kidnappers give him access to a telephone. Whenever his father calls, they show him that a call came in for you. He would just say, ‘Oh, that’s my father.’
“They know money will come out of father’s hands, so they would just pick it and allow him to talk. And they have been beating him. They have been beating all of them.”
The parent said families had been relying on assurances from the police while efforts continued to secure the victims’ release.
“The police are telling us to still be buying time. We are still looking for the money. Depending, they will see them rescued,” she said.
Calls For Government Action
The abduction has triggered calls from political parties and public figures for the immediate rescue of the prospective corps members, as well as renewed debate over the safety of the NYSC scheme.
The African Democratic Congress called for the suspension of the NYSC scheme for one year to allow the Federal Government to reorganise the programme and strengthen security measures.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the scheme remained important to national unity but argued that the current security situation required a temporary suspension and review.
“I think the NYSC is still relevant. But I think we need to respond to the current situation of insecurity in the country.
“If we were to advise the President, we think this is the time to suspend it for at least one year to give room for proper reorganisation, in such a way that it will protect the young people and also make the scheme worthwhile for them.
“Beyond that, it is a very important scheme for fostering national unity. The issues that the NYSC sought to address since it was created in 1973, at the end of the Civil War, are still there. So, we think it remains relevant.
“But we need to be responsible. We need to understand that it is also about the lives of other people, more than anything else. It is a different country today from what it was many years ago,” he said.
Abdullahi also criticised the Federal Government’s handling of insecurity and President Bola Tinubu’s Independence Day address, expressing his own party’s position on the government’s response.
Other political parties, including the National Democratic Congress, Labour Party, Social Democratic Party and Young Progressives Party, also condemned the abduction and called for stronger action to secure the victims’ release.
Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, also called for the immediate and safe rescue of the abducted prospective corps members.
“The abduction of approximately 20 prospective NYSC members travelling to their orientation camp is yet another distressing indication of the worsening insecurity in our country. These young Nigerians were preparing to serve their nation, but they were unable to travel safely on our roads. Families are increasingly burdened by the fear that their loved ones could fall victim to kidnapping.
“Protecting lives and property is the government’s foremost responsibility. We cannot continue to regard insecurity as an ordinary occurrence or act only after people’s lives have been disrupted.
“I call for the immediate and safe rescue of all the abducted corps members and the arrest of those responsible. Nigeria must become a country where young people can travel, work, and serve their nation without fear,” he wrote.
The management of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, also expressed concern after learning that some of its graduates were among those reportedly abducted.
The university’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Razaq Kalilu, called for coordinated action by security agencies to secure the victims’ release.
“The University stands firmly with the affected families at this deeply distressing moment.
“This is a painful and deeply troubling development for the University and, most importantly, for the families of our graduates and the other young Nigerians whose lives have been so cruelly disrupted. Our immediate and overriding concern is their safety and safe return to their families,” he said.
