Twenty corps members serving under the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) have been abducted by gunmen along the Owerri–Onitsha Road in the Umunoha community of Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State.
The corps members were reportedly travelling in a commercial bus from Ibadan, Oyo State, to different NYSC orientation camps in the South-East and South-South when they were intercepted by the armed men.
The incident was confirmed by the Police Public Relations Officer of the Imo State Police Command, Henry Okoye, who spoke with Channels Television by telephone.
Okoye said the gunmen intercepted the vehicle carrying the corps members along the busy highway and abducted the passengers.
He said the Commissioner of Police in the state, Audu Bosso, had visited the scene for an on-the-spot assessment following the attack.
According to the police spokesperson, security agencies have intensified efforts to locate the abducted corps members and secure their release.
He said security operatives were already combing surrounding bushes where the kidnappers were believed to have fled after the attack.
Okoye added that a Rapid Response Team had also been deployed as part of efforts to track the perpetrators and rescue the victims safely.
He said the priority of the security agencies was to ensure that the corps members were rescued “unhurt and unconditionally.”
The latest incident has renewed concerns over the safety of corps members travelling between states as part of their national service obligations.
It also comes weeks after another group of corps members was caught up in a kidnapping incident along a major road in Kogi State.
In August, 15 NYSC members who have now been rescued were abducted by gunmen while travelling through Kogi State after completing their orientation programme at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
The corps members, who were members of the 2026 Batch B Stream II set, were travelling towards Abuja when their vehicles were intercepted along the Ofu/Itobe–Onicha-Igo axis in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
They were travelling in a Peace Mass Transit bus and another vehicle belonging to Romchi Mass Transit Limited when the attackers reportedly blocked their movement.
A relative of one of the abducted corps members told the Foundation for Investigative Journalism that the families were alerted after a police officer, Adeji Joshua, obtained their contact details from the passenger manifest.
“According to a police officer who contacted us later that night, the incident occurred around Ofu Local Government Area, Kogi State, along the Ofu/Itobe–Onicha-Igo axis. The officer said he obtained our next-of-kin contact from the passengers’ manifest left behind,” the relative said.
The relative identified his brother, Ayodele David, as one of those abducted and expressed concern over the safety of the victims.
“My brother is among the affected corps members, and our family is deeply worried about his safety, along with that of the other young Nigerians who have been taken,” he said.
Joshua later confirmed the incident, saying the driver of the Peace Mass Transit bus survived the attack but sustained serious injuries and was taken to hospital.
According to the police officer, information provided by the injured driver indicated that the attackers spoke Fulfulde, Hausa and English, although their identities and affiliations were not established.
Joshua said two buses were involved in the attack. He explained that several occupants of the second vehicle were allowed to leave because some passengers were travelling with babies, although four people from that vehicle were reportedly taken.
He said the Peace Mass Transit bus had 16 passengers listed on its manifest but 15 of them were abducted.
“From the explanation of the driver, who was badly injured, fifteen passengers were kidnapped even though 16 people were listed on the manifest. For the last corps member, the driver told her the bus was full and said he could not add one more passenger, so he had to transfer her to another vehicle,” Joshua said.
He added, “But the rest of them in that bus, which is Peace Mass number 2826, were kidnapped. Meanwhile, the driver was badly injured, and we had to rush him to the hospital immediately. But as of this morning, he is better now.”
The victims were later rescued on August 31 by joint security forces comprising the police, military, Department of State Services and other auxiliary forces.
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Michael Onoja, said the corps members were rescued from Egume Forest in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State following a coordinated security operation.
COURTESY: PoliticsNigeria
