Twenty prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), who were abducted while travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their orientation camps in the South-East, have been released.
The release was confirmed on Wednesday by the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, according to a statement by his media aide, Adeola Oloko.
Oloko said the monarch received confirmation of the victims’ release from Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma, during a telephone conversation at about 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
The rescued National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members have been taken to the DSS Hospital in Owerri, Imo State, for medical assessment and treatment following their release.
The Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier-General Olakunle Oluseye Nafiu, visited the facility to meet with the rescued corps members and assess their condition.
Nafiu was accompanied by the Imo State Commissioner of Police, the Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Commander of the 34 Artillery Brigade in the state.
During the visit, the NYSC Director-General also addressed the rescued corps members.
The release of the victims was also confirmed on Wednesday by the Managing Director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited, Isiah Akpan.
The development brings to an end nearly a week of uncertainty for the young graduates and their families, following their abduction along the Owerri–Onitsha Road in Imo State.
The prospective corps members were travelling from Ibadan to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when two buses carrying them and other passengers were attacked near Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State on October 1.
The Imo State Police Command initially confirmed that 10 victims had been rescued following a security response, while investigations continued to establish the exact number of people abducted.
Subsequent reports from the families and security authorities indicated that 20 prospective corps members remained in captivity. The police later said security operatives had located the kidnappers’ hideout through drone surveillance but had been unable to immediately move into the area because of intelligence indicating that the location had been planted with improvised explosive devices.
The incident sparked considerable anxiety among families in Oyo State. On October 3, relatives of the victims visited the Olubadan in Ibadan seeking his intervention. At the time, the families said the abductors had demanded a ransom running into hundreds of millions of naira.
The ransom demand was subsequently reported to have fallen from an initial ₦50 million per victim to ₦5 million each, or ₦100 million for the 20 victims. Families also raised concerns about the condition of those in captivity.
The reported release is expected to provide significant relief to the victims’ relatives, who had spent days seeking government and security intervention.
The Oyo State Government had earlier said it was working with the Imo State Government and security agencies to secure the safe return of the abducted prospective corps members.
The latest confirmation from the Olubadan represents a major breakthrough in the case, although further details on the circumstances of the release, the condition of the victims and whether any ransom was paid were not immediately available in the statement.
The abduction had also renewed concerns over the safety of prospective corps members travelling long distances to orientation camps, particularly as the NYSC Batch C Stream One orientation exercise was under way.