By: Our Correspondent
Twenty families in Oyo State have been thrown into a desperate situation after kidnappers holding their children reportedly demanded N1 billion and gave the families just 24 hours to pay.
The victims are 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps members who were on their way to their orientation camps when gunmen attacked the buses carrying them in Imo State.
The latest information came from the victims’ parents, who travelled to Ibadan on Saturday to seek help from the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja.
The parents were accompanied by the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, and the Aseyin of Iseyinland, Oba Sefiu Adeyeri.
According to the families, the kidnappers have been communicating with them through the mobile phones of some of the abducted graduates.
The demand, they said, is N50 million for each person being held.
With 20 people in captivity, that puts the total ransom demand at N1 billion.
The journey that ended in the abduction began on Thursday.
The young graduates had left Ibadan and were travelling towards their respective NYSC orientation camps when the two buses came under attack along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in the Umunoha area of Imo State.
The gunmen reportedly took the passengers away, leaving their families to wait anxiously for information.
By Friday, communication had begun between the kidnappers and some of the victims’ relatives.
The families said the callers warned them that the safety of the abducted graduates depended on their response to the ransom demand.
For the parents, the amount being requested is almost impossible to raise.
Representing the affected families, Alhaja Akande and Oyebola Akande appealed directly to the Olubadan and the security authorities for urgent assistance.
They said they could not raise N1 billion within such a short period and pleaded for every possible effort to be made to secure the victims’ release.
The ransom demand had also been confirmed on Friday by Isiah Akpan, the Managing Director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited.
But while the families were dealing with the ransom demand, security agencies were working on another lead.
The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Garba Bosso, disclosed on Saturday that security operatives had succeeded in locating what they believed to be the camp where the remaining victims were being held.
Drones were reportedly used during the operation to identify the suspected location.
That discovery, however, did not immediately lead to a rescue.
According to Bosso, intelligence received by the security agencies indicated that the suspected camp had been planted with improvised explosive devices.
The presence of possible explosives meant that the security forces could not simply move into the location without taking precautions.
The situation has therefore turned into a race against time, with the families facing the kidnappers’ 24-hour deadline while security agencies work to reach the victims without putting the hostages or rescuers in greater danger.
The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, said he had already contacted the Imo State Police Command over the incident.
According to him, discussions had been ongoing with the Imo Commissioner of Police since the abduction was reported.
He said the Imo command had assured him that efforts were being made to rescue the victims unharmed.
The Olubadan, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, also tried to reassure the families.
He told them that efforts were underway to secure the safe return of their children and that relevant information gathered during the operation would be passed on to them.
The police response has also been strengthened at the federal level.
Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu has deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Nadada, to Imo State.
The DIG is expected to coordinate the search-and-rescue operation and work with the various security agencies involved.
At the time of the report, the police had not disclosed whether any ransom had been paid.
Authorities also did not provide further details about the planned operation at the suspected camp, beyond confirming the security concern involving possible improvised explosive devices.
For the families, the uncertainty remains.
Their children left home expecting to begin a new chapter through the National Youth Service Corps.
Instead, they are now being held by kidnappers, while their parents face a ransom demand of N50 million per person and a reported deadline of just 24 hours.
And with security operatives saying they have already identified the suspected location where the victims are being held, the next phase of the operation could be critical.
(Source: Punch Newspapers)
