Newly discharged corps member kidnapped on way home after NYSC, family begs government to intervene

• A newly discharged corps member, identified as Dapo, was abducted on his way home from Edo State.

• His family says the kidnappers demanded ₦25 million after allowing him to speak briefly on the phone.

• The family has appealed to the government and security agencies for help rescuing him.

The family of a newly discharged National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member abducted on the Ijebu-Ode–Ibadan Road has appealed to the Federal Government and security operatives to help rescue him, saying they heard his voice on a call from his kidnappers.

The man, identified only as Dapo, was returning to Ibadan from Edo State, where he served, after his passing-out parade last week, according to his sister, Abigeal, who spoke to Punch on Thursday.

She said he and nine others were abducted on Tuesday evening, November 3, 2026, shortly after leaving Ijebu-Ode for Ibadan. The last time the family heard from him before the incident, she said, was when he sent a video of the traffic on the road. He then became unreachable.

A corps member who escaped said in a voice note that the driver suddenly turned onto a bush path as traffic built up. He said attackers opened fire when they reached the kidnappers' location and shot at least one person. He said he hid and found himself in the bush after the others had been taken away.

Abigeal said the kidnappers called on Wednesday using Dapo's phone. She said the family heard him say, "Hello, mummy," before the kidnappers took the phone and demanded ₦20 million. They called again at about 6:59 p.m., she said, and raised the demand to ₦25 million, with a Thursday deadline.

"We don't even have the N25m to raise," she said. She said the abducted people had already spent two nights in captivity, and that families of other victims were also trying to raise funds, judging from posts she had seen on X.

READ ALSO: Five suspects who kidnapped 20 NYSC members on their way to camp and demanded ₦950m ransom arrested and charged to court

She said the bus and the victims' luggage had been recovered and were at the Ijebu-Ode Police Station. Police and vigilantes searched the bush on Tuesday night but returned without the victims, she said.

The Ogun State Police spokesperson, DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, confirmed that some people were abducted along the Ogun corridor of the road but denied that any corps member was among them. A senior police source also confirmed the abduction, speaking anonymously.

At the time of the latest reports, the victims remained in captivity.