ONE of the parents of prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members who were abducted while travelling to orientation camps on Nigeria’s Independence Day has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to intervene in their rescue.
The incident occurred at about 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 1, along the Owerri-Onitsha Road near Umunoha, Imo State, when two buses conveying the prospective NYSC members and other passengers came under attack by suspected gunmen.
The Imo State Police Command confirmed the attack and said it had deployed tactical teams and operational assets, in collaboration with other security agencies, to rescue the abducted passengers and arrest the suspected attackers.
The command said both buses had been recovered and 10 victims rescued at the scene.
However, the police said the exact number of persons whisked away by the assailants was still being verified.
“Following a swift response by the police and other security agencies, both buses have been recovered, and 10 victims were rescued at the scene. The rescued victims are in safe hands and are being attended to. The exact number of persons abducted is being verified and will be made public once confirmed.
“Operatives are conducting coordinated search and rescue operations, backed by intelligence-led tracking of the suspects,” the Police Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye, said in a statement on Thursday.
But reports from families of the victims and other media accounts indicated that many prospective corps members might have been abducted.
A distressed mother in a social media post appealed to Tinubu and the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, to help rescue her daughter and other passengers.
The woman said her daughter, Kehinde, was travelling to an NYSC camp in Akwa Ibom State when she sent a message ‘kidnappers’ to the family WhatsApp group indicating that the bus she was travelling in had been attacked by kidnappers.
Arise TV reported that those kidnapped include Akande Kehinde, Olaleye Mary, Oladosu Greatness, Obafunsho Rhoda, Abdulrof Anifat, Esther Oyede, Hassan Usman, Ayomide Isa, Mary Makinde and Azeez Adejoke.
Others listed are Abdulrazaq Anifat, Sarah Temilolu, Adeoye Elizabeth, Eniola Samuel and Usman Temi.
The ICIR reports that such attacks are frequent on Nigeria highways.
The incident came just weeks after another attack in Kogi State, where corps members travelling from an orientation camp were among passengers abducted along the Aloma-Egane Expressway.
The Kogi State Police Command later said 11 victims, including NYSC members and the drivers of two buses, were rescued, while security operations continued to locate other victims.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M