NYSC Abduction: Condition Of Our Abductees Has Become Horrible, Scary – Relatives

Distraught relatives of the 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted by gunmen in Imo State have lamented the condition of their abducted children, saying they are currently being subjected to merciless beating and other inhuman treatments.

One of the relatives, Alhaja Alimot Akande, disclosed that the victims, including the female, are subjected to severe beatings by their captors, saying the situation has become “horrible, scary and overwhelming” for the families.

She also disclosed that the kidnappers had reduced their ransom demand to N5m each and the deadline for payment expires within hours.

Speaking with newsmen in Ibadan on Sunday, she said the abductors had subjected the victims to physical assault since the previous day.

This was as the Oyo State government disclosed that it was working closely with the Imo State government and security agencies in both states, while deploying its experience from the recent Oriire abduction crisis as a template in its efforts to secure the release of the 20 graduates.

Akande, whose 25-year-old sister, Kehinde Akande, was among those abducted, said the kidnappers had reduced their demand from the earlier N50 million per victim to N5 million each.

She said the reduction had not, however, eased the anxiety of the families because the victims were still being held and allegedly beaten by their captors.

“They are still demanding N5 million. They have come down to N5 million each,” she said.

Asked whether the N5 million was being demanded for each of the 20 abducted prospective corps members, she replied, “Yes.”

Akande, however, said she could not confirm how much had been raised by the families towards the ransom, explaining that she was not privy to the individual arrangements between the kidnappers and the other parents.

“I cannot say because I do not know how much they have told those people that they have,” she said.

Asked to describe the situation from her perspective, Akande said, “It has been horrible, scary and overwhelming.”

The situation, according to her, became more disturbing after she spoke with her sister and learned that the abductors had begun beating the victims.

“Sir, we appeal to the government to please assist us in getting them rescued out of that place. When I spoke to my sister, they started beating them yesterday,” she said.

Asked whether the female corps members were also being assaulted, she said the kidnappers had shown no restraint.

“They are not sparing anybody. They are beating all of them,” she said.

Akande also disclosed that one of the abducted corps members had been allowed to communicate with his father, but the calls were allegedly being used by the kidnappers as an avenue to monitor the family’s ability to raise money.

According to her, the abductors would alert the victim whenever his father’s call came in and allow him to speak because they believed the father could provide the ransom.

She said, “His father has been communicating with him. The kidnappers give him access to a telephone. Whenever his father calls, they show him that a call came in for you. He would just say, ‘Oh, that’s my father.’

“They know money will come out of their father’s hands, so they would just pick it and allow him to talk. And they have been beating him. They have been beating all of them.”

The parents also disclosed that the families had been relying on assurances from the police while efforts continued to secure the money demanded by the abductors.

“The police are telling us to still be buying time. We are still looking for the money. Depending, they will see them rescued,” she said.

Asked whether she was also directly affected by the incident, Akande replied, “I am. My sister was abducted.”

She identified her sister as Kehinde Akande and said she was 25 years old.

Meanwhile, the Oyo State government has said it is maintaining close contact with the Imo State Government and security agencies as efforts intensify to secure the release of the abducted graduates.

The Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, said the state government was not standing aside because the abduction occurred outside Oyo State, stressing that it was actively involved in efforts to bring the victims home.

Oyelade said the government was using lessons and experience from the abduction of students and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area as part of its engagement with the Imo authorities.

“We are in close contact at the government-to-government level and actively with the security apparatus in Oyo and Imo states,” he said.

“We are volunteering our template and experiences garnered during the Oriire kidnapping, and the report of the Judicial Inquiry just submitted last week by the Hon Justice (Professor) Mojeed Owoade Panel is coming in handy in our bilateral discussions on the matter.”

The commissioner explained that the state government would not publicly disclose every aspect of its strategy because of the sensitive nature of the operation.

“Governments all over the world are not in the habit of disclosing all they are planning in delicate situations like this,” Oyelade said.

He, however, argued that the Federal Government and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces should bear the primary responsibility for explaining the country’s broader security response to the abduction.

“The pushback should be on the Federal Government and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, who are in charge of national security, on what they have done in 72 hours,” he said.

Oyelade linked the Oyo Government’s position to Governor Seyi Makinde’s recent intervention over the abduction of students in Borno State, noting that the Borno incident occurred on the same day as the Oriire abduction.

“It was in recognition of this that Governor Seyi Makinde appealed to the Federal Government last week to expedite action on the abducted Borno students, who were abducted on the same day, May 15, that the Oriire students and teachers were abducted,” he said.

Reaffirming the state’s commitment to the victims, Oyelade said the fact that the graduates were abducted in Imo did not absolve the Oyo Government of its responsibility towards its citizens.

“Oyo State Government has not and will not abandon its citizens. We will continue to work endlessly and desperately to secure the release of our children,” he said.

The 20 prospective corps members were abducted on Thursday while travelling from Ibadan to their respective NYSC orientation camps in two buses.

The vehicles were attacked by gunmen along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State, while the graduates were travelling to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.

The abduction triggered immediate concern among the affected families, particularly after the parents said the kidnappers initially demanded N50m for each of the 20 victims, amounting to N1bn, and gave them a 24-hour ultimatum to produce the money or risk harm coming to their children.

The parents had earlier sought the intervention of the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, during a visit to his private residence in Bodija, Ibadan, where they were accompanied by the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, and the Aseyin of Iseyinland, Oba Sefiu Adeyeri.

At the meeting, the parents pleaded with the monarch to intervene urgently, saying they could not raise the N1bn demanded by the kidnappers.

“They have been calling us since yesterday (Friday) with a demand for N50m ransom each. They are threatening that anything untoward will happen to our children if we fail to heed their request,” the parents had said.

“There is no way we can raise such an amount at this period. Baba, kindly assist us. Don’t let them kill our children.”

Responding, Oba Ladoja assured the families that efforts were being made to rescue the victims unharmed.

“I want to assure that your children will be rescued unharmed. We will relate whatever information we gather to you. The police are working around the clock to secure their rescue. Don’t worry yourself, the police are up to the task, and nothing would happen to your children,” the Olubadan said.

The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, also said he had remained in contact with his Imo counterpart since the incident.

“I had already contacted Imo State CP. We have been talking since the day of the incident, and he assured me that the victims would be rescued unhurt,” Abimbola said.