Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma has commended the security agencies involved in the rescue of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps members and one other person abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha Road, praising their collaboration, patriotism and discretion in securing the safe release of the victims after seven days in captivity.
In a statement he personally signed on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, the governor said he was particularly grateful to the security agencies for handling the situation discreetly and collaboratively. "I want to commend the security agencies for their swift intervention and for the professional manner in which they handled this delicate situation," Uzodimma said. "Because the incident involved the safety of human lives, the authorities deliberately limited information in the public domain while efforts were underway to free the victims. This was not a decision taken lightly, but it was necessary to protect the lives of those in captivity." The governor also commended the Imo and Oyo State Governments for working together to secure the release of the corps members. "The cooperation between our two states demonstrates what can be achieved when we put the safety and wellbeing of our people above political considerations," he said. He praised the parents of the abducted corps members for their patience during the ordeal and urged Nigerians to continue to have faith in the Federal Government as it works to address the country's security challenges.
The victims regained their freedom on Wednesday after being rescued from Amakohia-Ubi forest in Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State, according to security sources. The rescue followed a coordinated operation involving the military, the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies. The victims are currently receiving medical attention at the Department of State Services Hospital in Owerri, where they are undergoing medical checks. The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, Brigadier General Olakunle Oluseye Nafiu, was at the DSS Clinic in Owerri to address the rescued victims, accompanied by the Imo State Commissioner of Police, the Director of the DSS and the Commander of the 34 Artillery Brigade.
The graduates were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when gunmen attacked the two buses conveying them at Umunoha in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State on Thursday, October 1, 2026. The abduction triggered a nationwide outcry and a coordinated search-and-rescue operation involving multiple security agencies. During the seven days of captivity, the abductors reportedly subjected the victims to physical assault, including the female victims, and initially demanded a ransom of N1 billion. They later reduced the demand to N100 million. The parents of the victims had made desperate appeals to the authorities and traditional leaders to secure the release of their children, with some families travelling from Oyo State to Imo State to press for action.
The rescue operation had been complicated by the difficult terrain and the presence of improvised explosive devices around the abductors' camp. On Saturday, October 4, the Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Garba Bosso, disclosed that police operatives had located the camp where the victims were being held using drone surveillance but had delayed a full assault because intelligence indicated that the area was mined with explosives. "We are moving in with bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers to see how we're going to rescue these victims unhurt," Bosso said at the time. The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, DIG Shehu Umar Nadada, to Imo State to coordinate the rescue operation. The DIG was accompanied by two Commissioners of Police and conducted an on-the-spot assessment of the situation alongside the Imo State Commissioner of Police.
The Oyo State Government, which had been working closely with the Imo State Government and security agencies since the abduction, also welcomed the release of the corps members. The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince Dotun Oyelade, had earlier disclosed that the state was volunteering the templates and experiences it garnered during the Oriire kidnapping incident and that the report of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into that abduction was being used in the ongoing bilateral discussions. The Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, who had been closely monitoring developments surrounding the abduction, expressed relief following Uzodimma's confirmation of the release. The governor personally conveyed the news to the monarch during a telephone conversation at about 5 p.m. on Wednesday, according to a statement by the Olubadan's media aide, Adeola Oloko. Oloko said the confirmation brought renewed hope to the families and others who had been concerned about the safety of the abducted prospective corps members.
The abduction was the latest in a series of attacks targeting travellers and young Nigerians undertaking the mandatory national service programme. In August 2026, kidnappers abducted corps members travelling from Bayelsa State to Abuja and demanded N20 million for each victim. In January, a prospective corps member was abducted along the Kogi axis while travelling to Taraba State, with her abductors demanding N30 million. The frequency of these incidents has raised questions about the safety of the NYSC scheme, which requires hundreds of thousands of graduates to travel across the country each year. The National Association of Nigerian Students, Southwest Zone D, had called on the Federal Government to review compulsory long-distance postings and introduce safer deployment and transportation arrangements, demanding the immediate implementation of the risk-sensitive deployment framework approved by the Federal Executive Council in June 2026.
The release of the 20 corps members and one other person brings a measure of relief to their families, who had endured seven days of agonising uncertainty. The victims are now receiving medical attention, and the NYSC Director-General has visited them to assess their condition and offer support. The coming days will determine what further medical and psychological support the rescued corps members require and whether the security agencies can apprehend the perpetrators of the abduction. For the Nigerian public, the incident has renewed attention to the persistent security challenges facing travellers on the country's highways and to the vulnerability of young Nigerians participating in national service. As Uzodimma put it, the authorities deliberately limited information in the public domain while efforts were underway to free the victims, and the strategy ultimately paid off with their safe release.
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