Twenty prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members kidnapped while travelling from Oyo State to Abia State have regained their freedom seven days after their abduction.
The victims were abducted in the early hours of Thursday along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State.
They were reportedly travelling from Ibadan to their NYSC orientation camps when gunmen attacked the two buses conveying them.
The abductors subsequently demanded N50 million for each victim, amounting to N1 billion.
However, the suspected kidnappers later reduced the ransom to N5 million per person, totalling N100 million.
As of the time of filing this report, the circumstances surrounding the release of the victims were not made public.
But our correspondent gathered that the rescued graduates are undergoing treatment at the Department of State Services Hospital in Owerri, Imo State.
The Director-General of NYSC, Brigadier-General Olakunle Oluseye Nafiu, visited the facility to meet the victims and assess their condition.
He was reportedly accompanied by the Imo State Commissioner of Police, the State Director of DSS and the Commander of the 34 Artillery Brigade, Imo State.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited, Isiah Akpan, confirmed the rescue of the victims on Wednesday.
Similarly, the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rasidi Ladoja, confirmed the release of the abducted victims.
The traditional ruler, who spoke with DAILY POST through his media aide, Adeola Oloko, noted that the Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma, called the traditional ruler and informed him of the release.
He said, “The prospective members of NYSC who were abducted have been released.
“The Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma, confirmed this in a telephone conversation with the Olubadan of Ibadanland, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Rashidi Ladoja at 5.00pm today, Wednesday.”
