By Lizzy Chirkpi
Security agencies have located the suspected hideout where prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted in Imo State are being held, but fears of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have delayed an immediate assault on the camp.
The victims were abducted on Thursday, October 1, when gunmen attacked two buses conveying prospective corps members and other passengers along the Owerri-Onitsha Road, near Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of the state.
The passengers were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.
The Imo State Commissioner of Police, CP Audu Bosso, disclosed on Saturday that security operatives had tracked the abductors into the bush and deployed drones to locate their hideout.
According to him, the drones successfully identified the suspected camp, but operatives could not immediately advance because intelligence indicated that the area had been planted with IEDs.
“Yesterday, we were in the bush; we trailed them up to a particular location. But at that point in time, we couldn’t move in to where the coordinates showed us where they are,” Bosso said.
He said security forces were preparing to deploy heavy equipment, including bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers, to gain access to the camp and minimise risks to the hostages and rescuers.
“Our predicament is that with the intel we have, the camp is mined with IEDs,” the commissioner said.
The development has heightened anxiety among families of the abducted graduates, who are seeking information about their loved ones.
Reports indicate that the kidnappers have demanded ₦50 million for each of the 19 prospective corps members reportedly still in captivity, bringing the alleged ransom demand to ₦950 million.
One of the victims’ mothers, Mrs Oladosu, said the abductors contacted the family using her daughter’s phone and briefly allowed relatives to see the captives during a video call.
She said the victims were seen sitting on the ground in the bush and crying.
“Where will petty traders get N50 million? They are just going to serve Nigeria; why this punishment?” she lamented.
The police had earlier announced that 10 victims were rescued following the attack, although reports differed over whether all those rescued were prospective corps members.
The Defence Headquarters subsequently said 20 passengers were abducted, including prospective corps members, while 10 passengers — eight of them identified as prospective corps members — had been rescued.
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has also deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Nadada, to Imo State to coordinate the rescue operation.
The operation involves the police, military and other security agencies, with support from the Nigerian Air Force and the Department of State Services.
With the suspected camp now located, security agencies are faced with the challenge of reaching the victims without triggering explosives believed to have been planted around the hideout.
Families of the abducted graduates continue to await their safe return as security operatives intensify efforts to reach the captives.