THE Imo State Police Command said it has located the suspected camp where prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted in the state are being held.
However, the command said its operatives could not launch an assault on the location over fears that it is planted with improvised explosive devices.
The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Garba Bosso, disclosed this on Saturday, October 3, while providing an update on the search-and-rescue operation.
Bosso said security operatives used drones on Friday to locate the suspected camp after tracking the kidnappers into the bush along the Owerri-Onitsha Road.
He said the operation was delayed because intelligence reports indicated that the camp was mined with improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
According to him, security agencies are preparing to move into the area with heavy equipment, including bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers, to minimise the risks to the abducted victims and rescue them safely.
The development comes as the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, deployed senior police officers to the state to coordinate an intensified search-and-rescue operation.
Disu directed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Nadada, to take over tactical operations in Owerri following the October 1 highway ambush.
Nadada arrived in the state alongside two commissioners of police to assess the scene of the abduction and review the deployment of security personnel and operational equipment.
The assessment was conducted alongside Bosso and the police chief responsible for federal operations, Akpan Anifiok, among other commanders.
The police said additional tactical teams had been deployed and intelligence-led efforts intensified to track the suspects and identify their hideouts.
Disu, through the Force Public Relations Officer, Anietie Iniedu, reaffirmed the police’s commitment to rescuing the abducted prospective corps members and arresting those responsible.
The police also urged residents and media to remain calm and provide credible information to security agencies, assuring them of strict confidentiality.
Backstory
The abduction occurred on Thursday, October 1, when gunmen reportedly ambushed travellers along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in the Umunoha area of Mbaitoli Local Government Area, Imo State.
The prospective corps members were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when the attackers struck.
The ICIR reported that the victims were travelling in two buses operated by Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited.
The company’s managing director, Isiah Akpan, told newsmen that the abductors took 19 prospective corps members into the bush, while the drivers escaped and alerted security personnel at a nearby checkpoint.
However, the police, in their October 3 update, referred to 20 abducted victims, indicating a discrepancy in the reported number of people taken.
According to reports, the abductors have demanded a ransom of ₦50 million for each victim, bringing the total demand to ₦950 million for the 19 prospective corps members reported by the transport company’s managing director.
Some families were reportedly contacted through the phones of their abducted relatives.
One of the victims’ mothers, identified as Oladosu, told Punch that her family received a call from the kidnappers using her daughter’s phone and saw some of the victims during a video call.
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