NYSC KIDNAP: Police found where abducted corps members are held, but can’t rescue them yet

• Police say drones helped locate the suspected kidnappers' camp in Imo.

• Security forces fear the area has been planted with homemade explosives.

• Parents say 20 prospective corps members remain captive, and kidnappers are demanding ₦1bn.

There is finally a possible breakthrough in the search for the prospective NYSC members kidnapped in Imo State.

Security operatives say they have located the camp where the victims are believed to be held; however, they cannot simply walk in and bring them out.

Imo State Commissioner of Police Audu Garba Bosso said operatives tracked the suspected kidnappers into the bush and used drones on Friday to pinpoint their location.

The problem, he said, is that intelligence indicates the camp may have been planted with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) — homemade explosives that can be hidden around a location and triggered when people approach.

That has forced security agencies to slow down their advance while they work out how to reach the victims without putting them in greater danger.

Bosso said bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers were being prepared for the operation, while police spokesperson Henry Okoye said security operatives were closing in on the kidnappers.

The graduates were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states on October 1 when gunmen attacked two buses along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State.

The exact number of people still being held has become one of the unresolved parts of the incident.

The transport company previously said 19 prospective corps members were abducted, while the reported ransom demand was ₦50 million per person, or ₦950 million in total.

But the victims' parents have given a different account. They say 20 prospective corps members remain in captivity and that the kidnappers are demanding ₦50 million for each person, bringing it to a total of ₦1 billion altogether.

The parents also dispute the police's earlier claim that 10 victims were rescued. They say those 10 people escaped into the bush themselves during the attack, while 20 others were taken away.

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The Defence Headquarters, however, previously said 20 passengers were abducted and 10 people, including eight prospective corps members, were rescued. The conflicting accounts mean the final number of people still in captivity has not been independently established.

Meanwhile, Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu has deployed Deputy Inspector-General of Police Shehu Umar Nadada, who is in charge of Operations, to coordinate the rescue operation in Imo. Nadada has assured the families that security agencies are working to bring their loved ones home safely.

The Oyo State Government also said on Sunday that it was working with the Imo State Government and security agencies to secure the release of 20 prospective corps members of Oyo origin.

For the families, the development means help may be closer than before but their children are still not home.

One mother told PUNCH that she had been praying on a mountain for her son's safe return while the family tried to deal with the ransom demand.

For now, security agencies say they have identified where the victims may be held, but the reported explosive threat means the rescue operation has to be carefully planned.