Tell Nigerians How 20 NYSC Abductees Were Freed–HURIWA

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called on the Federal Government and security agencies to explain how the 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted in Imo State regained their freedom.

While commending President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Chief of Army Staff, the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Police Force and other security personnel involved in securing the victims’ release, the group said Nigerians deserved to know whether the corps members were rescued by security forces or released following negotiations and payment of ransom.

The National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, said the safe return of the young Nigerians as a welcome development, praising what it called the apparent coordination and intelligence sharing among the security agencies.

“This is the way security operations should work: intelligence sharing, inter-agency cooperation, coordinated action and an unwavering commitment to bringing abducted Nigerians home alive,” the group said.

However, HURIWA said the circumstances surrounding the release had raised questions that required clear answers from the authorities.

“The Nigerian people deserve the truth,” it said, asking whether the 20 prospective corps members were “actually rescued by the security forces, or were they released after the payment of ransom?”

According to the group, the question had become unavoidable because no suspected kidnapper had reportedly been arrested, captured or neutralised in connection with the abduction.

HURIWA stressed that there was nothing wrong with acknowledging that abducted citizens had been released through negotiations where necessary to preserve their lives, noting that human life is priceless.

It, however, warned against presenting a misleading account of how the victims were freed.

“What is unacceptable is for government and security authorities to present one narrative to Nigerians while concealing material facts about how citizens were actually freed,” the organisation said.

“Nigerians are not asking for operational secrets. They are asking for the truth.”

HURIWA also demanded answers to a series of questions, including whether the kidnappers were engaged in negotiations, whether ransom was paid, who negotiated with the abductors, whether any suspects had been identified or arrested and whether the kidnappers escaped before security forces arrived.

“If the security agencies conducted a successful rescue operation, where are the rescued victims’ abductors?

“What kind of rescue operation ends with the victims returning safely but leaves the perpetrators completely untouched?”

The organisation said the questions were particularly important because the abductors reportedly initially demanded N50 million for each victim, amounting to N1 billion, before reducing the demand to N5 million per person, or N100 million for the 20 victims.