Kidnappers who seized 19 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in Imo State on Nigeria’s Independence Day have demanded N950 million for their release.
The graduates were travelling from Ibadan to orientation camps in Akwa Ibom and Abia states when gunmen attacked two buses along the Owerri-Onitsha Road near Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area on Thursday, October 1, 2026.
According to Punch, Isiah Akpan, Managing Director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited, said that the abductors demanded N50 million for each of the 19 victims. Security agencies have rescued 10 of the corps members, while operations continue to locate those still in captivity.
The ransom demand has heightened concerns among the victims’ families, with some relatives reportedly contacted directly by the kidnappers. One parent said the abductors used her son’s phone to demand N50 million, while Mrs Oladosu, whose daughter Greatness was travelling to Uyo, said the family saw the captives during a video call.
“They used my daughter’s number to call us. We saw her and other corps members sitting on the ground in the bush, crying. Where will petty traders get N50m? They are just going to serve Nigeria; why this punishment?” she said.
