Gunmen have attacked commercial buses along the Owerri–Onitsha Expressway in Imo State, abducting passengers, including at least one prospective National Youth Service Corps member travelling to orientation camp.
The attack occurred at about 5:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 1, 2026, around No Man’s Land, Umunoha, in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State, as Nigeria marked its 66th Independence Anniversary. Reports said two 18-seater buses were attacked, with passengers forced from the vehicles and taken into the surrounding bush.
One of the affected vehicles was identified as belonging to Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited.
Footage recorded after the incident showed buses left on the road while people gathered around the scene.
An eyewitness who spoke in a video from the location said the attackers intercepted the vehicles, robbed the passengers and subsequently took them into the bush.
“This happened this morning,” the eyewitness said.
“They robbed two vehicles coming from Lagos. They took all the passengers into the bush.”
The eyewitness also reported that police officers had arrived at the location while soldiers entered the bush in an attempt to locate and rescue the abducted passengers.
The identity of the attackers has not been officially established.
Although some eyewitness and social-media accounts attributed the attack to Fulani gunmen, no statement from the police or another security agency had confirmed the identity or ethnicity of the attackers at the time of reporting.
The incident has attracted additional attention following reports that prospective NYSC members travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, were among the passengers.
A distressed mother who appeared in a video following the attack said her daughter, identified as Kehinde, was among those abducted.
According to the mother, Kehinde and her twin sister, Taiwo, had left home to report for their respective National Youth Service Corps orientation programmes.
Taiwo, who was posted to Enugu State, successfully reached her orientation camp.
Kehinde, however, was travelling towards Akwa Ibom State when communication with her family suddenly stopped.
The mother said Kehinde and other travellers departed Samonda in Ibadan at about 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 30.
According to her account, the travellers spent the night in Imo State before continuing their journey early Thursday morning.
Shortly after 6:00 a.m., Kehinde reportedly sent a brief message to the family's WhatsApp group.
The message contained a single word:
“Kidnapper.”
She also reportedly placed a missed call before her telephone became unreachable.
The mother said the family subsequently received information and footage from people around the scene indicating that the passengers had been taken away.
“Nigerians help me. My child left home for NYSC camp and alerted our family WhatsApp group, typing ‘Kidnapper,’” the woman said.
She appealed directly to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu to intervene and secure the release of her daughter and the other abducted passengers.
“We learnt my child, Kehinde, and the whole passengers and driver have been abducted,” she said.
“I’ve not been able to speak to my child.”
The woman said 19 people were believed to have been abducted from the vehicle involving her daughter.
That figure is based on the family's account and had not been independently confirmed by security authorities at the time of reporting.
TheCable reported another significant detail from the mother's account.
According to her, the travellers were moving in three vehicles, but one managed to escape while passengers in the other two were reportedly taken away.
One of the buses visible at the scene carried the inscription “Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nig. Ltd” and fleet number Uko/133.
Peoples Gazette separately reported the registration number of the vehicle carrying the prospective corps member as KTE-360ZY.
Reports differ, however, on the exact destination and number of prospective NYSC members involved.
One report said about 18 corps members from Oyo State were travelling to Abia State for their three-week orientation programme when they were intercepted at approximately 6:30 a.m. Thursday.
That account said the group departed Samonda, Ibadan, at approximately 9:00 a.m. Wednesday and stopped overnight in Imo before resuming their journey.
The mother's account reported by Peoples Gazette, however, identified her daughter as travelling to an Akwa Ibom State NYSC camp.
TheCable similarly reported that the mother said her daughter left Ibadan for Anambra before reporting that the passengers were travelling onward to their respective NYSC destinations.
Because of those differences, it has not yet been officially established that all passengers abducted from the two buses were prospective corps members.
What has been established from the available reports is that Kehinde was travelling to an NYSC orientation camp, according to her mother, when the attack occurred.
The exact total number of prospective NYSC members among the abducted passengers remains subject to official confirmation.
The precise timing also differs slightly between accounts.
The eyewitness account from the Owerri–Onitsha Expressway placed the attack at approximately 5:30 a.m., while the family source quoted in another report put the interception at approximately 6:30 a.m.
The available information therefore places the attack in the early hours of Thursday morning, October 1.
Daily Sun identified the location more specifically as No Man’s Land, Umunoha, Mbaitoli LGA, along the Owerri–Onitsha Expressway.
An eyewitness at the scene said security personnel had begun responding after the attack.
“The police came this morning, and the army has already entered the bush to see if they can rescue the victims,” he said.
However, as of the latest reports available on Thursday, there was no official announcement confirming that any of the abducted passengers had been rescued.
The Imo State Police Command had also not issued a detailed public statement confirming the identities and exact number of victims.
TheCable reported that Imo Police spokesperson Henry Okoye had not responded to calls and a text message seeking comment at the time its report was filed.
Peoples Gazette also contacted police authorities over the incident.
Oyo State Police spokesperson Ayanalade Olayinka reportedly directed inquiries to the Imo State Police Command because the attack occurred in Imo.
Attempts by the newspaper to reach Okoye were unsuccessful, while Akwa Ibom Police spokesperson Timfon John had also not responded at the time the report was published.
The National Youth Service Corps had also not publicly confirmed the exact number of prospective corps members involved as of the reports reviewed by Stone Reporters News.
Consequently, claims circulating that exactly “18 NYSC members” were kidnapped should be treated as family and media accounts pending confirmation from the NYSC or security agencies.
The confirmed information available so far is that gunmen attacked buses along the Owerri–Onitsha corridor early Thursday, passengers were reportedly taken into the bush, and the mother of a prospective corps member has identified her daughter as one of those missing following the attack.
Security personnel were also reported to have moved into the area in an effort to locate the victims.
For the families, attention is now focused on the search operation and the safe return of those taken.
Kehinde's mother, whose other daughter successfully reached her NYSC camp in Enugu, appealed for urgent intervention.
“Please, President and IGP Olatunji Disu, help us,” she said.
“Please help us rescue them. I have not been able to talk to Kehinde since then.”
As of the latest information available on October 1, 2026, no death had been officially reported in connection with the attack, no ransom demand had been publicly confirmed, and the identities of the attackers remained unknown.
The number and identities of all those abducted also remained subject to confirmation as security agencies continued efforts to establish the full circumstances surrounding the early-morning attack.
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