Security forces have located the suspected hideout where abducted prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members are being held in Imo State, but have delayed storming the camp over intelligence that the area may have been planted with improvised explosive devices.

The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso, disclosed this on Saturday, saying security operatives had tracked the kidnappers deep into the bush and used drones to identify their suspected camp.

Bosso said operatives could not immediately move into the location because of intelligence suggesting that the kidnappers had rigged the area with explosives.

“Any moment, we’ll still move into the bush. Yesterday, we were in the bush, we trailed them up to a particular location,” he said.

The commissioner said the security agencies were adopting a cautious approach to prevent casualties and ensure the safe rescue of the victims.

He explained that bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers would be deployed to clear access routes and support the operation.

“We are moving in there with high-velocity vehicles, that is, bulldozers. We’re moving in with bulldozers and APCs to see how we’re going to rescue these victims unhurt,” Bosso added.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye, also said security operatives were closing in on the abductors and had been briefed on how to proceed.

The operation was reinforced following the deployment of additional senior police officers to Imo State by the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu.

Disu deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Nadada, alongside two commissioners of police, to strengthen the search-and-rescue operation.

Nadada arrived in the state on Friday and reviewed the personnel, operational strategy and assets deployed for the mission.

The prospective corps members were travelling in two buses from Ibadan, Oyo State, to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when gunmen attacked them along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State, on Thursday.

The incident has since generated conflicting accounts over the number of people abducted and those who escaped or were rescued.

The Imo State Police Command initially said 10 victims had been rescued after security agencies responded to the attack, adding that the two buses were recovered.

The Defence Headquarters later said 20 passengers were abducted, while 10 people, including eight prospective corps members, were rescued by troops and other security personnel.

However, parents of the affected corps members have rejected that account, insisting that those described as rescued actually escaped from the kidnappers and fled into the bush.

The parents said 20 prospective corps members were still being held as of Saturday.

They made the claim during a visit to the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, at his private residence in Bodija, Ibadan.

According to the parents, 30 passengers were travelling in the two buses when the gunmen attacked. They said 10 passengers escaped through the bush, while the remaining 20 were taken captive.

The families also questioned the passenger manifest provided by the transport company, alleging that some of the affected prospective corps members were not listed.

One of the parents, Alhaja Alimot Akande, said the families first learnt about the incident through a social media post by one of the passengers who escaped.

She said the parents subsequently requested the passenger manifest from the transport company but were initially denied access.

“We demanded the manifest to ascertain the identities of the passengers on board the two buses but they declined,” she said.

She added that when the company eventually provided a document, the families discovered that some of the affected corps members were not included.

The parents also said they had asked the company to produce the drivers of the two buses, who reportedly escaped from the attack, but claimed their request was not granted.

Kidnappers demand N1bn ransom

The families further alleged that the kidnappers had demanded N50 million for each of the 20 victims and issued a 24-hour deadline for payment.

The alleged ransom demand amounts to N1 billion.

According to the parents, the abductors contacted families using the mobile phones of some of the victims and threatened to harm them if the ransom was not paid.

“They have been calling us since yesterday (Friday) with a demand for N50m ransom each. They are threatening that anything untoward will happen to our children if we fail to heed their request,” Akande said.

The ransom claim has added another layer to the conflicting accounts surrounding the number of victims.

An earlier account attributed to the Managing Director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited, Isiah Akpan, put the number of abducted passengers at 19, which would translate to an alleged ransom demand of N950 million.

The parents, however, maintained that 20 prospective corps members remained in captivity, putting the alleged ransom demand at N1 billion.

At their meeting with the Olubadan, Ladoja assured the families that efforts were being made to rescue the victims safely.

“The police are working round the clock to secure their rescue. Don’t worry yourself, the police are up to the task, and nothing will happen to your children,” he said.

The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, who attended the meeting, said he had remained in contact with his Imo counterpart since the incident.

He said the Imo commissioner had assured him that the victims would be rescued unhurt.

The Oyo State Government also condemned the abduction and said Governor Seyi Makinde had directed the deployment of necessary resources to support the rescue operation.

The state government said it was liaising with the Imo State Government, security agencies and the NYSC leadership over the incident.

Meanwhile, one of the victims’ mothers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said she had resorted to prayer while members of her family sought ways to respond to the ransom demand.

She said she was at a prayer mountain praying for the release of her son while other family members were trying to raise the money demanded by the kidnappers.

The two buses, operated by Uko Akwa Ibom Motors, reportedly departed from the Bodija/Samonda Park in Ibadan on Wednesday.

Akpan said traffic around Benin, Edo State, delayed the journey before the buses eventually reached the Onitsha axis.

The passengers and drivers reportedly spent the night there before continuing their journey at about 5am on Thursday.

According to Akpan, gunmen attacked shortly after the buses entered Imo State, blocked the vehicles and marched the passengers into the bush.

The drivers reportedly escaped and alerted security personnel at a nearby checkpoint, triggering the search-and-rescue operation.

The abduction has renewed concerns over the safety of prospective corps members travelling to different parts of the country for the compulsory national service programme.

Reacting to the incident, African Action Congress presidential candidate for the 2027 election, Omoyele Sowore, called for the suspension and eventual scrapping of the NYSC scheme.

Sowore argued that requiring young Nigerians to travel long distances for national service exposes them to security risks.

He proposed that corps members should, in the interim, be allowed to serve within their states of origin and suggested replacing the NYSC with a voluntary National Job Corps focused on employment, skills development, public works, technology, agriculture, healthcare and education.

For now, security agencies say the immediate priority is to safely reach the suspected hideout, neutralise any explosive threat and secure the release of the abducted prospective corps members.