From Ibadan to Orientation Camp, NYSC Journey Ends in Kidnap Ordeal for 20 Corps Members

At least 20 National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, members have reportedly been abducted by gunmen along the Owerri Onitsha Road in Imo State while travelling to their various orientation camps.

The incident occurred on Thursday, October 1, Nigeria’s Independence Day, with the Imo State Police Command confirming that the corps members were intercepted while travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to orientation camps in different parts of the South East and South South.

According to the police, the victims were travelling in a commercial bus when gunmen intercepted them along the road. Police Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye, said the Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso, had visited the scene while security agencies intensified efforts to rescue the victims.

Earlier reports indicated that at least two commercial buses were attacked, with passengers and drivers reportedly taken into the bush. Videos circulating online showed abandoned buses along the highway, including a bus operated by Uko Akwa Ibom Motors, from which some of the prospective corps members had reportedly departed from Samonda, Ibadan.

The corps members were reportedly travelling to orientation camps in states including Akwa Ibom, Enugu, Imo and Abia.

The incident has left families searching for information about their loved ones. In a video shared online, a distressed mother said her daughter was among those travelling to an NYSC orientation camp in the South East.

According to the mother, her daughter sent a message to their family WhatsApp group shortly after 6am on Thursday. The message reportedly contained only the word “kidnapper”, after which her phone became unreachable.

The woman said the family had continued trying to reach her daughter without success, while relatives visited the transport park in Ibadan where some of the affected travellers had boarded their buses.

A survivor who travelled in a bus that reportedly escaped the attack was also seen filming an abandoned commercial bus by the roadside. In the video, he claimed that the passengers and driver of another vehicle had been taken away.

The police said security agencies were continuing efforts to locate and rescue the abducted corps members and apprehend those responsible for the attack.