…Victims rescued after six days in captivity as security agencies intensify operation along Owerri-Onitsha Road
Daud Olatunji
Twenty prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps abducted by gunmen in Imo State have regained their freedom, six days after they were kidnapped along the Owerri-Onitsha Road.
The victims, who were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their various NYSC orientation camps in the South-East and South-South, were abducted on October 1 when gunmen attacked two buses around Umunoha in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area of the state.
PLATFORM TIMES gathered that the 20 prospective corps members and another victim rescued from the abductors are currently receiving medical attention at the Department of State Services Hospital in Owerri.
The Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier General Olakunle Oluseye Nafiu, was said to have visited the victims at the DSS clinic on Wednesday and addressed them following their rescue.
He was accompanied by the Imo State Commissioner of Police, the Director of the DSS in the state and the Brigade Commander, 34 Artillery Brigade.
The victims’ release followed a coordinated operation involving the police, military, DSS and other security agencies.
Immediately after the attack, the police recovered the two buses and rescued 10 of the abducted passengers, while efforts continued to locate those who had been taken into the bush.
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, subsequently deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, DIG Shehu Nadada, along with additional tactical resources to strengthen the operation and coordinate the search for the remaining victims.
Security operatives later identified the suspected hideout of the abductors. However, the planned assault on the location was reportedly delayed after intelligence indicated that improvised explosive devices might have been planted around the area.
The eventual rescue of the remaining victims has brought relief to their families, who had spent nearly a week anxiously seeking information about their whereabouts.
The incident had sparked concerns over the safety of prospective corps members travelling to orientation camps, particularly those undertaking long-distance journeys through areas vulnerable to attacks by criminal elements.
The NYSC has consistently advised prospective corps members to avoid night journeys and adhere strictly to approved travel and safety guidelines while travelling to their orientation camps.
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