The Imo State Police Command has located the hideout where suspected kidnappers are holding abducted National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, members and other victims, Commissioner of Police Audu Garba Bosso has disclosed.
Bosso said security operatives used drones to track the abductors and were able to identify their exact location in the bush, but said the rescue operation had been delayed by intelligence indicating that the area was heavily mined with improvised explosive devices.
Speaking to journalists on the ongoing operation, the Imo CP said security forces had already moved into the area and would continue efforts to safely reach the victims.
“Yesterday we were in the bush; we trailed them up to a particular location. But at that point in time, we couldn’t move in to where the coordinates showed us where they are,” he said.
According to him, the drones provided security operatives with the exact location of the abductors, but the presence of IEDs around the camp posed a major challenge to the operation.
“But our predicament is that with the intel we have, the camp is mined with IEDs,” Bosso said.
He added that security forces were preparing to deploy heavy equipment, including high-velocity vehicles, for bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers, to gain access to the area and rescue the victims.
“We are moving in there with high-velocity vehicles. We are moving with bulldozers and APCs to see how we are going to rescue these victims,” he said.
The victims were among passengers abducted after suspected gunmen attacked two buses along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway in Imo State on October 1.
The buses were carrying prospective corps members travelling from Ibadan to orientation camps in the South East and South South when they were attacked around the Umunoha axis of the road in Mbaitoli Local Government Area.
The Imo State Police Command had earlier said 10 victims were rescued at the scene, while the exact number of those still in captivity was being verified.
The Defence Headquarters subsequently said 20 passengers were abducted from the two buses, including several prospective corps members, while 10 passengers, among them eight identified prospective corps members, had been rescued.
It said a joint search and rescue operation involving troops of Operation Udoka, the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services, with support from the Nigerian Air Force, was ongoing to locate and rescue the remaining victims.
…Parents Get 24hrs Deadline to Pay N1bn Ransom Demand
• Parents of abducted NYSC members
Meanwhile, parents of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted while travelling from Oyo State to their orientation camps have appealed for urgent intervention after their captors demanded a total ransom of N1 billion.
The victims, who were travelling from Ibadan to their respective NYSC orientation camps on Thursday, were kidnapped when gunmen attacked the two buses conveying them along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State.
The abductors reportedly demanded N50 million for each of the 20 prospective corps members, bringing the total ransom demand to N1 billion.
The affected parents disclosed the development on Saturday when they visited the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, at his private residence in Bodija, Ibadan. They were accompanied by the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, and the Aseyin of Iseyinland, Oba Sefiu Adeyeri.
Speaking on behalf of the families, Alhaja Akande and Oyebola Akande said the kidnappers had been contacting them through the mobile phones of some of the abducted prospective corps members.
“They have been calling us since yesterday (Friday) with a demand of N50 million ransom each. They are threatening that anything untoward will happen to our children if we fail to heed their request.
“There is no way we can raise such an amount at this period. Baba, kindly assist us. Don’t let them kill our children,” the parents pleaded.
They appealed to the Olubadan and the police authorities to intervene and ensure the immediate and safe release of their children.
Responding, Oba Ladoja assured the families that efforts were being made to rescue the victims unharmed.
“I want to assure you that your children would be rescued unharmed. We will relate whatever information we gather to you. The police are working round the clock to secure their rescue. Don’t worry yourself; the police are up to the task, and nothing would happen to your children,” he said.
However, the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, said he had been in contact with his counterpart in Imo State regarding the incident.
“I had already contacted the Imo State CP. We have been talking since the day of the incident, and he assured me that the victims would be rescued unhurt,” Abimbola said.
The commissioner, however, did not disclose whether any ransom had been paid or provide details of the ongoing rescue operation.
He said, however, that the operation had been delayed after intelligence indicated that the suspected camp had been planted with improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has also deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Nadada, to Imo State to coordinate the search-and-rescue operation.
The authorities have continued to assure the families that efforts are ongoing to secure the safe release of the abducted prospective corps members.
