After 7 days in kidnappers' den, 20 prospective corps members abducted on their way to NYSC camp finally regain their freedom

• Twenty prospective corps members abducted on their way to NYSC orientation camp have regained freedom after seven days in captivity.

• The graduates were kidnapped along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Imo State on October 1.

• The rescued victims are receiving medical attention, while details of the operation and possible arrests remain unclear.

Twenty prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) who were abducted while travelling to their orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states have regained their freedom after spending seven days in captivity in Imo State.

According to the official report published by the Nigeria Police Force on X, “the victims were rescued on 7th October 2026 at Amakohia Ubi Village, Imo State, following sustained search-and-rescue operations.” 

Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), the military and the Nigeria Police Force took part in the operation that secured their release. The rescued victims were subsequently taken to a DSS facility in Owerri for medical attention.

READ NEXT: He escaped kidnappers, walked for 9 days through the forest, then got kidnapped again

The NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Olakunle Oluseye Nafiu, later visited the victims at the facility. He was accompanied by the Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso, the Director of the DSS in the state and the Commander of the 34 Artillery Brigade.

The graduates had left Ibadan, Oyo State, and were travelling towards orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom when the attack happened. 

The two buses were reportedly heading towards Bende in Abia State and Uyo in Akwa Ibom State when they were stopped by gunmen around Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State at about 6:30 a.m.

The attackers forced some of the passengers into the surrounding bush, triggering a search operation that would continue for the next seven days.

There was initially some confusion over the number of people taken. The Imo State Police Command said shortly after the attack that 10 passengers had been rescued and that the exact number of people still missing was being established. The two buses were also recovered.

Families of the missing graduates, however, later disputed the account that the 10 passengers had been rescued by security operatives. They said the 10 had escaped from the kidnappers during the attack, while 20 prospective corps members remained in captivity.

The families' accounts became the basis for subsequent appeals for help as the security agencies intensified their search for the missing graduates.

The situation became even more urgent when the kidnappers reportedly contacted relatives and demanded ₦50 million for each of the 20 victims, putting the initial ransom demand at ₦1 billion.

The abductors reportedly gave the families 24 hours to raise the money.  Some relatives subsequently appealed to the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, for assistance in securing the release of the graduates.

As the security operation continued, the ransom demand was reportedly reduced. By October 5, the kidnappers were said to have lowered their demand to ₦5 million per victim, reducing the total from ₦1 billion to ₦100 million.

READ ALSO: Bandits abduct newlywed reverend and his bride with four others while returning from their engagement ceremony in Kwara

Meanwhile, security agencies were closing in on the abductors. The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, deployed Deputy Inspector-General of Police Shehu Nadada, who oversees Operations, to Imo State to coordinate the police response and reinforce the teams searching for the victims.

The search eventually led security operatives to the suspected location where the kidnappers were holding the graduates. Bosso said security personnel had used drone surveillance to locate the suspected camp and had received intelligence indicating that the area had been planted with improvised explosive devices.

That meant a direct assault could have placed the hostages and the rescuers at serious risk. Security agencies therefore prepared additional equipment, including bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers, as they worked out how to reach the captives without triggering the reported explosives.

After days of surveillance and planning, the operation finally resulted in the release of the 20 prospective corps members on Wednesday.

The victims were freed alongside another person who had also been abducted and were taken to the DSS Hospital in Owerri for medical attention.

The rescue brings an end to a week of uncertainty for the families of the graduates, who had left Ibadan expecting to spend the next stage of their lives preparing for national service but instead found themselves in the hands of kidnappers.

The authorities have not disclosed all the details of the final rescue operation. It also remains unclear from the latest official accounts whether any ransom was paid or whether any of the suspected kidnappers were arrested.