Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The 20 prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps who were abducted in Imo State on October 1 and released a week later have reportedly been offered the option of completing their national service in any of the six South-West states, in what officials and family members describe as a deliberate measure to ensure their safety and well-being following their traumatic ordeal.
A parent, who spoke in confidence on Friday, said the survivors were allowed to choose the states where they would continue their national service. "They have been given the opportunity to choose states in the South-West to continue their service with the current batch," the parent said. The offer covers Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti states, and it allows the graduates to serve closer to their families and in an environment they are familiar with, rather than returning to the camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states where they were originally posted. Calls and messages to the NYSC spokesperson, Caroline Embu, seeking confirmation that the graduates had been allowed to serve in the South-West, were not returned as of press time, the Punch report noted.
The graduates were travelling in two commercial buses belonging to Uko Akwa Ibom Motors from Ibadan, Oyo State, to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when gunmen attacked them on October 1 along the Owerri-Onitsha Road, near Umunoha in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State. The attackers took 19 prospective corps members and one other person into the bush, 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 victims were rescued on October 7 at Amakohia Ubi Village in Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State, following sustained operations.
The rescue, however, has been overshadowed by conflicting accounts over whether a ransom was paid. A parent disclosed to Saturday PUNCH that families paid N6 million for each of the graduates. "As for the ransom, we eventually paid N6m each, but we wanted them freed before disclosing that," the parent said. A relative of another survivor, Joy Zainab, confirmed that family members and well-wishers contributed towards the N6 million ransom. She said, "Alhamdulillah, he has been released and is safe with us at home. Thank you to everyone who prayed, reached out, showed concern, shared his story and supported us financially towards his ransom."
The accounts corroborated an earlier disclosure by Alirat Wahab, the mother of another victim, who said her family paid N6 million after the kidnappers initially demanded N50 million per captive. In an interview with News Central Television, Wahab said the kidnappers reduced their demand to N15 million before eventually accepting N6 million following appeals from the family. "Initially, they asked us to pay N50m per head. We asked whether the amount was for all of them, but they insisted it was per person, so we started begging them to take N500,000, but they refused," she said. She added that relatives and well-meaning Nigerians contributed money to meet the demand, and that the kidnappers directed the families to send representatives to Ibadan, where her husband and son met an intermediary. The money was subsequently transferred into a designated account, while the representatives were instructed to convert the funds into US dollars upon arrival in Imo State.
The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Garba Bosso, had earlier said the command was unaware of any ransom payment. "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, and a security source said the abductors abandoned their victims and fled after troops of Operation UDO KA intensified operations in the area. The families, however, disputed the police rescue claim, insisting that ransom was paid to secure their release.
The trauma of the ordeal has taken a toll on the survivors and their families. One mother said she and her daughter had been hospitalised following the incident. "Both of us are in the hospital. We are receiving drips and treatment. My blood pressure shot up over this incident," she stated. A survivor, who spoke to PUNCH on the phone, expressed gratitude for surviving the ordeal. "I don't want to remember it. I just want to give the glory to God. I thank God that I am alive," the survivor said, declining further comment. The victims were taken to the Department of State Services Hospital in Owerri for medical attention before being moved to Ibadan, where they arrived on Wednesday and were received at the DSS office in the Aleshinloye area for debriefing. Only representatives of the victims' parents were allowed access to the DSS premises, while other relatives and sympathisers remained outside the facility.
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 Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria also demanded that the government provide a full account of how the victims were freed, asking whether a ransom was paid and who paid it. "Was a ransom paid? If so, who paid it? And why are the families being left to bear the burden?" HURIWA asked.
The offer of postings to any South-West state is seen as a deliberate measure to ensure the safety and well-being of the freed corps members. For the graduates, the opportunity to serve closer to home represents both a practical solution and a measure of closure after a harrowing experience. For their families, it is a reassurance that their children will not have to return to the region where they were abducted. For the NYSC, the decision reflects a recognition that the safety of corps members must be prioritised, particularly in a security environment where travellers on the country's highways remain vulnerable to attack. The coming days will determine whether the NYSC formally confirms the posting offer and whether the graduates can begin their service year with a measure of peace.
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