By Frontline Reporters

Parents of the 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted in Imo State have raised the alarm over threats by their captors to kill the victims if a N1bn ransom is not paid within 24 hours.

The abductors are reportedly demanding N50m for each of the 20 graduates and have threatened to harm them if the ransom is not paid within the stipulated deadline.

The distraught parents made the disclosure on Saturday when they visited the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, at his private residence in Bodija, Ibadan. They were accompanied by the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, and the Aseyin of Iseyinland, Oba Sefiu Adeyeri, as they sought urgent intervention to secure the safe release of their children.

The 20 graduates were abducted on Thursday while travelling from Ibadan to their respective NYSC orientation camps in two buses. The vehicles were reportedly attacked by gunmen along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State.

The development has heightened anxiety among the affected families, particularly as the abductors have reportedly maintained contact with them through the mobile phones of some of the kidnapped prospective corps members.

Speaking on behalf of the families, Alhaja Akande and Oyebola Akande said the kidnappers had been calling since Friday, demanding N50m for each victim and threatening to harm the young graduates if their demands were not met.

“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.

“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.

They appealed to the Olubadan and the police commissioner to intervene urgently, expressing fears that the lives of the victims could be at risk if the abductors carried out their threats.

Responding, Oba Ladoja assured the families that security agencies were making concerted efforts to rescue the abducted graduates alive and unharmed.

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

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

“I had already contacted the 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.

The police commissioner, however, did not disclose whether any ransom had been paid or provide specific details about the ongoing rescue operation.

Meanwhile, the families remain gripped by uncertainty as the 24-hour ultimatum issued by the abductors adds pressure to efforts by security agencies to secure the safe release of the 20 prospective corps members.

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