The abductors of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members kidnapped in Imo State have reduced their ransom demand from N50m to N5m per victim.
Politics Nigeria reports that this brings the total amount demanded for the victims’ release to N100m.
The fresh demand came as the victims’ families raised concerns over reports that the captives were being beaten by the gunmen.
One of the parents, Alimot Akande, disclosed on Sunday that the abductors had established contact with the families and informed them of the reduction in the ransom.
According to her, the kidnappers initially demanded N50m and gave the families a 24-hour deadline for payment. She said the amount had now been reduced to N5m for each of the 20 victims.
“They are still demanding N5 million. They have come down to N5 million each,” Akande said.
She explained that the reduction brought the total ransom from N1bn to N100m, although she could not determine how much had so far been raised by the families.
“I cannot say because I do not know how much they have told those people that they have,” she said.
Akande also expressed concern over the condition of the abducted corps members, alleging that the gunmen had subjected them to physical assault while pressuring them to convince their families to meet the ransom demand.
She said the situation had become particularly distressing after she learnt that the abductors had started beating the victims.
“Sir, we appeal to the government to please assist us in getting them rescued out of that place. When I spoke to my sister, they started beating them since yesterday,” she said.
Asked whether the female victims were also being assaulted, Akande said the abductors were not sparing anyone.
“They are not sparing anybody. They are beating all of them,” she said.
She identified her 25-year-old sister, Kehinde Akande, as one of the abducted corps members.
The parent further disclosed that one of the victims had been allowed to communicate with his father, but alleged that the kidnappers were using the communication to assess the family’s capacity to raise the ransom.
According to her, the abductors would notify the victim whenever his father called and allow him to speak with him because they believed the father could raise the money.
She said the families were still relying on assurances from the police as they struggled to raise the demanded ransom.
“The police are telling us to still be buying time. We are still looking for the money. Depending on it, they will see them rescued,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Imo State Police Command has identified the location where the 20 prospective corps members are believed to be held but has delayed a direct operation because of intelligence that the suspected camp may have been planted with improvised explosive devices.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Audu Garba Bosso, disclosed this on Saturday while providing an update on the rescue operation.
Bosso said security operatives had trailed the abductors into the bush and deployed drones on Friday, which helped to identify the suspected location of the victims.
He, however, said the security agencies could not immediately enter the area because intelligence indicated that the camp had been mined with IEDs.
“Any moment, we’ll still move into the bush. Yesterday, we were in the bush, we trailed them up to a particular location,” Bosso said.
He explained that the drones showed the exact location of the suspected camp, but the presence of possible explosives had complicated the operation.
The commissioner said security operatives were preparing to enter the area with heavy equipment, including bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers, in an effort to rescue the victims safely.
“We are moving in there with high, you know, high-velocity vehicles, that is, bulldozers, we’re moving in with bulldozers and APCs to see how we’re going to rescue these victims unhurt,” he added.
