Parents of prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted in Imo State have disclosed that their children’s captors have issued a 24-hour ultimatum for the payment of a collective ransom off up to ₦1 billion.
The parents made the revelation on Saturday, October 3, 2026, during a visit to the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, at his private residence in Bodija, Ibadan, Oyo State.
They were accompanied by the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, and the Aseyin of Iseyinland, Oba Sefiu Adeyeri.
The victims, numbering between 19 and 20 according to varying accounts, were travelling from Ibadan to their NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when gunmen attacked two buses operated by Uko Akwa Ibom Motors along the Owerri-Onitsha Road near Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State on Thursday, October 1.
Speaking on behalf of the affected families, Alhaja Alimot Akande and Oyebola Michael Akande said the kidnappers had been contacting them since Friday through the mobile phones of the abducted graduates. They demanded ₦50 million for each victim, bringing the total to approximately ₦950 million or ₦1 billion.
“They have been calling us since yesterday (Friday) with a demand for ₦50m ransom each. They are threatening that anything untoward will happen to our children if we fail to heed their request. There is no way we can raise such an amount at this period. Baba, kindly assist us. Don’t let them kill our children,” the parents pleaded.
Oba Ladoja assured the families that security agencies were working to secure the safe release of the victims and urged them to remain calm. Commissioner of Police Abimbola stated that he had been in constant communication with his Imo State counterpart and that efforts were intensified to rescue the abductees unharmed.
Earlier on Saturday, the Imo State Police Command confirmed a ransom demand in the region of ₦950 million and advised families against making any payments. The command’s Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye, said search-and-rescue operations, including bush-combing, were ongoing and that operatives were closing in on the location, though the precise position of the victims remained challenging to pinpoint.
Imo State Commissioner of Police Audu Garba Bosso had earlier disclosed that security operatives located the suspected kidnappers’ hideout using drones but delayed a raid due to intelligence indicating the area was mined with improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Plans were underway to approach with heavy equipment, including bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers.
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, DIG Shehu Umar Nadada, along with two Commissioners of Police, to coordinate the rescue mission in Imo State.
The families continue to appeal for urgent intervention as the 24-hour deadline looms and security operations intensify.
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