Key points
- Parents say families paid N6 million per victim after demands fell from N50 million, then N15 million.
- Police say joint operations rescued the 20 graduates; the Imo commissioner says he knew of no ransom.
- The freed graduates were reportedly offered postings to any of the six South-West states.
The 20 prospective corps members freed by kidnappers in Imo State on Wednesday have reportedly been offered postings to any of the six South-West states, even as their families dispute the police account of how they regained freedom.
A parent who spoke to Saturday PUNCH in confidence said the survivors were allowed to choose where to continue their service with the current batch. The NYSC spokesperson, Caroline Embu, had not responded to requests to confirm the arrangement.
The same parent said families paid N6 million for each graduate. “We wanted them freed before disclosing that,” she said. A relative of survivor Joy Zainab confirmed that family members and well-wishers pooled money for the ransom.
How the negotiation unfolded
Alirat Wahab, whose son was among the captives, told News Central Television that the kidnappers first demanded N50 million per head.
After pleas from families, who offered as little as N500,000, the figure dropped to N15 million and finally to N6 million.
According to Wahab, families sent representatives to Ibadan, where her husband and son met an intermediary. The money was then transferred into a designated account, and representatives were told to convert funds to US dollars on arrival in Imo State.
The graduates were abducted on Oct. 1 near Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area while traveling in two Uko Akwa Ibom Motors buses to camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom. Police announced their rescue at Amakohia Ubi Village in Owerri West on Wednesday.
Police stand by rescue claim
However, Imo Police Commissioner Audu Bosso said on Thursday he was unaware of any ransom, insisting that sustained pressure forced the abductors to release the captives. Force spokesperson Anietie Iniedu likewise credited joint search-and-rescue operations.
The graduates were taken to a Department of State Services hospital in Owerri for evaluation, and NYSC Director-General Olakunle Nafiu visited them.
Meanwhile, the trauma has lingered. One mother said she and her daughter were both hospitalized and receiving drips after her blood pressure spiked. A survivor declined to describe the ordeal: “I just want to give the glory to God.”
Scheme under fire
The case has sharpened calls to scrap or overhaul the 53-year-old scheme. In June, the Federal Executive Council approved reforms including risk-sensitive deployment, technology-driven call-up and a six-week orientation.
Yet critics say the abductions show those measures remain untested, with one parent saying no family will now send children to other regions.
