Twenty prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), who were abducted by gunmen in Imo State, have reunited with their families in Ibadan after spending seven days in captivity.
The young graduates were handed over to their families at about 8:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Oyo State headquarters of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Aleshinloye, Ibadan, following hours of debriefing and security procedures.
The reunion was marked by tears of joy, emotional embraces and expressions of gratitude as anxious parents finally saw their children return safely after a week of uncertainty and distress.
Some parents wept openly, while others held their children’s hands as they escorted them to waiting vehicles.
The families had reportedly waited for about three hours at the DSS facility before the rescued graduates were released to them. Security operatives had earlier appealed to relatives not to take photographs or record videos while awaiting the handover, making some parents reluctant to speak publicly about the incident.
The rescue followed a coordinated security operation that freed the victims on Wednesday, October 7, from the Amakohia Ubi area of Imo State.
According to reports by The PUNCH and TheCable, the operation involved the DSS, the Nigeria Police Force, the military and other security agencies. The Nigeria Police Force subsequently confirmed that all 20 abducted prospective corps members had been rescued and taken for medical assessment and necessary care.
The victims were travelling from Ibadan to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states on Thursday, October 1, when gunmen ambushed their vehicles along the Owerri–Onitsha Expressway near Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State.
The prospective corps members were among passengers travelling in two buses when the attackers struck at about 6:30 a.m., according to the Imo State Police Command.
While 20 of the prospective corps members were abducted, 10 others reportedly escaped during the attack.
The incident triggered widespread concern among families and residents of Oyo State, with parents making desperate efforts to secure the safe return of their children.
At the height of the crisis, distressed parents reportedly visited the private residence of the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, alongside government officials and other stakeholders, to seek intervention.
The kidnappers were reported to have initially demanded N50 million for each victim, amounting to N1 billion, before reducing their demand to N5 million per person, or N100 million in total, according to The PUNCH.
However, the circumstances surrounding the eventual release have not been fully disclosed by the security agencies.
Survivor recounts ordeal, denies sexual abuse
One of the rescued prospective corps members, Akande Morenikeji, described the experience in captivity as physically and mentally exhausting but dismissed reports suggesting that all the captives had been restrained with heavy chains.
“Ah, it was stressful, too,” she said while recounting the ordeal.
Morenikeji also addressed concerns about the treatment of female captives, saying the abductors did not subject the women to sexual harassment or sexual abuse.
“No, we were not chained; the guys, yes, the guys mostly. But as for us, the girls, they did not do any sexual harassment to us. They did not do anything sexual to us,” she said.
Her account provided some insight into the conditions faced by the victims during their seven days in captivity, although the full details of their experience remain unclear.
For the families, the return of their children brought relief after days of sleepless nights, anxiety and uncertainty.
Mrs Akande, the mother of one of the rescued graduates, expressed overwhelming gratitude when asked about the release.
“It is good news! Good news! Good news!” she exclaimed.
She said the news of the victims’ freedom brought immediate relief after the prolonged period of anxiety.
“Ah! Immediately I heard they were released yesterday, I slept soundly!” she said.
She also insisted that the families did not pay ransom for their children’s release.
“Ah, no ransom! Alhamdulillahi, we didn’t pay any ransom,” she said.
Another parent, Faith Felicia Abiala, described the emotional toll the abduction had taken on the families, saying she was devastated when she learnt that her child had been taken.
“I cannot recount all the tears and sorrow, but I give thanks to God that I am seeing her alive today. On the day she was taken, I was so devastated I couldn’t even eat, but today my heart is filled with joy,” Abiala said.
She commended the security agencies in Oyo and Imo states for their efforts in securing the victims’ freedom.
“I thank God, and I thank the DSS officials—they really tried. The team from Oyo State and the team from Imo State, they really tried and stood by us until our children came out safe and sound,” she added.
Beyond the immediate relief of the reunion, the incident has renewed concerns about the safety of young graduates travelling long distances to fulfil their national service obligations.
Abiala urged the government to review arrangements for prospective corps members travelling to orientation camps outside their home states.
“My advice to the government is that when Corps members are posted to their service states, they should ensure proper security arrangements—or allow them to travel by air to avoid these kinds of dangerous road journeys,” she said.
The abduction has highlighted the risks faced by prospective corps members who must travel across state lines to attend orientation camps, often relying on road transportation.
The NYSC programme requires prospective corps members to report to designated orientation camps before commencing their year of national service, making safe transportation an important consideration for graduates and their families.
The Nigeria Police Force said the rescue operation was carried out following sustained search-and-rescue efforts in collaboration with other security agencies.
The victims were taken for medical assessment after their release, while security operatives continued efforts to identify and arrest those responsible for the abduction.
The NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Olakunle Oluseye Nafiu, also visited the rescued graduates at a DSS medical facility in Owerri following their release, according to media reports.
The Oyo State Government welcomed the development, expressing relief over the safe return of the prospective corps members and commending the collaboration among the relevant authorities.
With the graduates now reunited with their families in Ibadan, attention is expected to turn to their recovery and the ongoing investigation into the attack.
For the parents who spent seven days hoping and praying for their children’s return, however, Thursday night’s reunion marked the end of a painful wait and the beginning of a long-awaited return to normal life.