The families of prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted by gunmen in Imo State have raised fresh concerns over the safety of the victims, alleging that their captors have subjected them to physical assault while reducing their ransom demand from ₦50 million to ₦5 million per person.
Reports published on Sunday, October 4, said relatives had received communications from the abductors indicating that the victims, including female corps members, were allegedly being beaten.
Alimot Akande, whose sister is among those abducted, told Vanguard that the situation had become increasingly distressing for affected families and appealed to the authorities to intensify efforts to secure their release.
“They are not sparing anybody. They are beating all of them,” she said, according to the newspaper.
The alleged assaults have heightened concerns as families struggle to meet the revised ransom demand and await progress in the rescue operation.
Ransom demand reportedly reduced
According to relatives cited in media reports, the kidnappers initially demanded ₦50 million for each victim before reducing the amount to ₦5 million per person.
If the demand applies to all 20 people reported abducted, the total would amount to ₦100 million.
Families have reportedly struggled to raise the money, with relatives appealing for government intervention and assistance in securing the victims’ safe return. The ransom demands and reports of assault remain allegations attributed to the families and communications they say they received from the abductors; they have not been independently verified in full.
Police and military pursue rescue operation
The prospective corps members were reportedly travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom when gunmen attacked two commercial buses in the Umunoha area of Mbaitoli Local Government Area, Imo State, on Thursday, October 1.
Security agencies have since launched efforts to locate the captives. The Imo State Police Command said operatives had identified a suspected location where the victims were being held, but concerns over possible improvised explosive devices at the site had complicated access.
There has been a discrepancy in reported victim counts: relatives and some reports refer to 20 abducted prospective corps members, while a police and military update reported efforts to rescue 19. The precise number of people still in captivity requires confirmation from the authorities.
Families call for urgent intervention
The incident has placed the victims’ families under severe emotional and financial pressure, particularly as they await confirmation of their relatives’ safety.
The immediate priority remains the safe recovery of those abducted and the prevention of further harm. Security agencies have said rescue efforts are ongoing, but a successful operation and the condition of all the victims had not been confirmed in the reports available on Sunday.