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Security operatives have arrested five suspected members of the gang linked to the abduction of 20 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in Imo State.
The suspects were arrested during intelligence-led operations conducted by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), the military and the police in Rivers and Abia states between October 10 and 14, according to a report by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).
Three other suspects reportedly escaped during the operations with varying degrees of injuries.
The 20 corps members were abducted in the early hours of October 1 when gunmen attacked two 18-seater buses conveying passengers from Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, and took them into the bush.
The victims were travelling to Akwa Ibom and Abia states in buses branded with the Abia State Government logo when the attackers intercepted the vehicles, according to a video circulated on X.
The police spokesperson in Imo State, Henry Okoye, said the incident occurred at about 6:30am, adding that 10 victims were rescued shortly after the attack.
The kidnappers later contacted the victims’ parents and demanded a ransom of ₦1 billion, giving them 24 hours to pay for their children’s release.
The gang subsequently reduced the demand to ₦5 million per victim, bringing the total ransom to ₦100 million for all 20 corps members.
On October 7, the Nigeria Police Force spokesperson, Anietie Iniedu, announced that a joint team of DSS, military and police operatives had rescued the corps members following sustained search-and-rescue operations at Amakohia Ubi village in Imo State.
However, the mother of one of the rescued corps members, Alirat Wahab, later told News Central Television that her family paid ₦6 million to secure her son’s release, contradicting the security agencies’ account of the rescue.
Wahab and her husband, Obasanjo, subsequently said the money their family contributed towards the ransom had been refunded.
