Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Garba Bosso, has said the command has no knowledge of any ransom payment made to secure the release of 20 abducted prospective National Youth Service Corps members and one other person, even as the families of some of the victims disclosed that they paid millions of naira to the kidnappers before their children regained freedom.
Bosso’s statement, made on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, came hours after the victims were rescued from Amakohia-Ubi forest in Owerri West Local Government Area, ending a seven-day ordeal that began on October 1 when gunmen attacked the two buses conveying them from Ibadan, Oyo State, to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states. The victims, 19 prospective corps members and one other person, were travelling along the Owerri-Onitsha Road when the attackers struck at Umunoha in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area. Ten passengers escaped or were rescued at the scene, but the abductors took the remaining victims into the forest, triggering a nationwide outcry and a coordinated search-and-rescue operation involving the military, the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies.
The police commissioner, who had earlier confirmed the abductors’ demand of N950 million for the release of the victims, told journalists on Wednesday that the command was unaware of any ransom being paid. “I am not aware of any ransom paid. What I know is that we rescued the victims,” Bosso said. The police have consistently maintained that the victims were freed through a combination of sustained pressure on the abductors and intelligence-led operations, rather than through negotiation or payment. A security source told the media that the abductors abandoned their victims and fled after troops of Operation UDO KA intensified operations in the area. “Not ransom paid – security sources say they forced them to abandon victims who have been taken to DSS Hospital and DSS Headquarters Owerri currently receiving medical attention,” the source said.
However, accounts from the families of the victims painted a different picture. The mother of one of the rescued corps members told The Sun that the kidnappers initially demanded N50 million for each victim before settling for N6 million for her son. She recounted how the family scrambled to raise the money and paid it to secure his release. “They initially demanded N50 million for each of them, but later reduced it to N6 million for my son. We had to pay before he was released,” she said. The account could not be independently verified, and the police have not confirmed whether any ransom was paid to the abductors. The discrepancy between the police account and the family’s account reflects the recurring challenge of establishing the full circumstances surrounding the release of kidnap victims in Nigeria, where ransoms are often paid covertly and not disclosed to the authorities.
The victims were taken to the Department of State Services Hospital in Owerri, where they are receiving medical attention. The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, Brigadier General Olakunle Oluseye Nafiu, visited the hospital to address the rescued corps members, accompanied by the Imo State Commissioner of Police, the Director of the DSS and the Commander of the 34 Artillery Brigade. The victims were subsequently reunited with their families, according to the NYSC. The corps members, most of them graduates travelling to begin their mandatory national service, had spent seven days in captivity during which the abductors reportedly subjected them to physical assault and demanded a ransom that began at N1 billion before being reduced.
Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma commended the security agencies for their role in securing the release of the victims, praising their collaboration and discretion. “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.” He also commended the Oyo State Government for working closely with Imo State to secure the release of the corps members, and praised the parents for their patience during the ordeal.
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, 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 Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria also weighed in, demanding that the government provide a full account of how the victims were freed. “The Federal Government and the security agencies must tell Nigerians the truth about how these young Nigerians were released. Was a ransom paid? If so, who paid it? And why are the families being left to bear the burden?” HURIWA asked. The organisation said the discrepancy between the police account and the families’ accounts raised serious questions about transparency and accountability in the handling of kidnapping cases. The police have not responded to HURIWA’s demand for a detailed account.
The political context of the incident is significant. The 2027 general elections are less than four months away, and security has emerged as a central issue in the campaign. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is seeking a second term on the All Progressives Congress platform, while former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress and former Anambra Governor Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress are among the major challengers. The abduction and rescue of the corps members, and the controversy over whether a ransom was paid, have focused attention on the government’s ability to protect its citizens and on the pervasive insecurity that continues to affect communities and travellers across the country. For the families of the rescued corps members, the ordeal has ended, but questions remain about what they had to sacrifice to bring their children home and whether the government’s account reflects the full truth. As Bosso put it, the police are not aware of any ransom paid. For the families who say otherwise, the silence of the authorities on the discrepancy is its own kind of answer.
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