By Stephen Simon
Nineteen prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their places of deployment in the South-east were reportedly abducted by gunmen in Imo State in the early hours of Wednesday.
The incident occurred at the Umunoha axis of the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway in Mbaitoli Local Government Area, as two 18-seater buses conveying the prospective corps members were reportedly intercepted by the attackers.
According to sources in the area, the gunmen forced the passengers out of the vehicles and marched them into the bush before security operatives could arrive at the scene. The victims were said to have departed Samonda Park, Ibadan, at about 10am on Tuesday and stopped after Onitsha to rest before continuing their journey around 4:30am on Wednesday.
One of the victims, Akande Farouq, who was posted to Abia State, reportedly sent a brief text message to his family shortly after the attack, reading, “Kidnappers!” His phone subsequently became unreachable.
His mother, Mrs Alimotu Akanke, who appealed for help on social media, said the family had been unable to establish contact with him and the other victims since the incident. She said only the driver of one of the buses escaped, while five passengers in the second vehicle were reportedly taken after other occupants escaped with the driver.
Akanke put the number of passengers from Ibadan believed to have been abducted at about 19 and appealed to the Federal Government, security agencies and NYSC management to urgently intervene and secure their release. She expressed concern over the safety of the young people who were travelling to their states of deployment to serve the country.
As of the time of filing this report, there was no official statement from the Imo State Government, security agencies or NYSC authorities confirming the reported abduction or providing details on efforts to rescue the victims. The circumstances surrounding the incident and the whereabouts of the prospective corps members remained unclear.
