No fewer than nineteen prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) boarded two separate buses in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Wednesday, heading to their respective orientation camp in the South-East.
Their mission was simple: to arrive at the NYSC orientation camp ahead of their formal swearing-in ceremony scheduled for Friday, October 2, after getting the clarion call to serve their fatherland.
However, what began as a journey of national service soon turned into a nightmare.
Their journey was first disrupted by a traffic gridlock in Benin City, Edo State. They later proceeded to Onitsha, Anambra State, where they spent the night after they could not continue the journey due to the deplorable condition of the road.
The following morning, Thursday, they decided to resume their journey as early as 5am, unaware of the danger that lay ahead.
As the buses travelled along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State, unknown gunmen reportedly ambushed them, bringing the journey to a terrifying halt.
“They blocked the two vehicles and took 19 passengers, all corps members, into the bush,” the Managing Director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited, Isiah Akpan, recounted when speaking to newsmen on Friday.
- File: Corps members at parade ground
Among those abducted were graduates of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso and Rev. Fr. Moses Orshio Adasu University, Benue.
Four days have now passed since the prospective corps members were taken into an unknown forest, which can never be a fortress for them.
Their hope of being formally sworn in alongside fellow graduates was dashed by their abductors, who reportedly placed a ransom demand on each of the captives.
It is a painful turn of events for the young graduates and their families, who have been left in fear and uncertainty.
Ransom Demand And 24-Hour Ultimatum
The abductors reportedly contacted some of the victims’ families and demanded N50 million for each person. For 19 victims, the demand amounts to N950 million.
The kidnappers also reportedly issued a 24-hour ultimatum for payment, threatening the lives of the victims if their demand was 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 to 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 said when they visited the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, at his private residence in Bodija, Ibadan.
The ransom demand has further deepened the anxiety of the affected families, who are already struggling with the uncertainty surrounding the fate of their children.
Cries Of Worried Parents
The parents of the abducted prospective corps members have been left sleepless and fearful as they await news of their children’s safe return.
An Ibadan-based woman, Mrs Alimot Akande, confirmed that her daughter was among the 19 prospective NYSC members.
She appealed to President Bola Tinubu and the security agencies to rescue all the kidnapped persons.
“The passengers had a stopover on Wednesday night in Onitsha at about 10 p.m., and the journey continued on Thursday morning before she quickly dropped a message that simply said, ‘kidnappers!’ indicating that the bus had been attacked by suspected armed kidnappers.
“I appeal to the federal government, the NYSC, the police and other security agencies to rescue my daughter and the others unhurt,” she told journalists on Friday.
Another parent, Engr. Olawale Olaleye, whose daughter was among those abducted, lamented that the reported ransom demand had left the families helpless.
“This morning, they are already demanding N50 million! N50 million for just one head! We don’t have mouth to talk too much, but please come to our rescue. Governor Seyi Makinde, President Tinubu, please come to our rescue. Since Thursday, I have not eaten, I can’t even sleep,” he said.
Olaleye’s account reflected the anxiety shared by other parents over the ransom demand and the uncertainty surrounding the safety of their children.
Ransom Is Illegal, But Lives Remain Important
The Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 contains provisions relating to the financing of terrorism, while kidnapping and hostage-taking are also addressed under the law. The law particularly prohibits and criminalizes the payment of ransom to kidnappers. Even, it makes anyone who pays ransom for the release of a kidnap victim guilty of a felony and liable on conviction to a term of 15years.
Where the recipient is a terrorist organisation, the payment may additionally fall under provisions dealing with terrorism financing, which carry severe penalties.
NANS Demands Urgent Rescue
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has called for the immediate rescue of the abducted prospective corps members and other passengers.
In a statement dated October 3, 2026, the Directorate of Students’ Rights and Legal Related Matters of NANS expressed concern over the reported abduction along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Imo State.
Among those affected is Ibi Philip, a Benue State indigene, prospective corps member and former student of Rev. Fr. Moses Orshio Adasu University
NANS said Ibi was “not merely a name in a security report” but one of its own, adding that its concern extended to every other victim whose identities might not yet be known to the association.
The students’ body said the rights of Nigerian students to life, dignity and freedom of movement must be protected.
It therefore called on security agencies and other relevant authorities to intensify efforts towards the safe and immediate rescue of Ibi and all other persons still being held by their abductors.
NANS also urged the authorities to maintain appropriate communication with the affected families while ensuring that sensitive operational information was handled in a way that would not compromise rescue efforts.
Calls To Scrap Or Reform NYSC
The abduction has also renewed calls for a review or outright scrapping of the NYSC scheme.
Clare Marie Ukaegbu, a former corps member who served at Wailo Camp, Bauchi State, in 2004-2005, described the incident as another indication of the dangers confronting young Nigerians deployed under the scheme.
In an open appeal, Ukaegbu said corps members had faced various dangers over the years, including road accidents, ethno-religious crises, election violence, kidnapping, banditry and ritual killings.
She said the country had lost too many young graduates and questioned the relevance of maintaining the scheme amid persistent security challenges.
“We are not ungrateful for the idea of national unity. But unity cannot be by force and cannot be at the cost of innocent blood,” she wrote.
Ukaegbu called on the Federal Government to either scrap the NYSC scheme if it could not guarantee the safety of corps members or urgently reform it by allowing graduates to serve in their states of origin.
“A teacher in Owerri is still serving Nigeria. A doctor in Bauchi is still serving Nigeria,” she said.
Similarly, presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (ACC), Omoyele Sowore, called for the immediate suspension and eventual scrapping of the NYSC.
Sowore said the recent abduction once again exposed the dangers of compelling young Nigerians to travel across an increasingly insecure country in the name of national service.
He argued that young Nigerians should not be forced to travel hundreds of kilometres into unfamiliar and insecure territories to fulfil a compulsory national service requirement.
Sowore proposed that corps members should, in the interim, be allowed to serve within their states of origin.
He further said that under his presidency, he would replace the NYSC with a two-year voluntary National Job Corps focused on employment, skills development, public works, technology, agriculture, healthcare, education and other productive national priorities.
‘No Youth Should Fear Answering The Call To Serve’
The Oyo State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, also appealed for the immediate and unconditional release of the prospective NYSC members from Oyo State.
Alli described the incident as deeply disturbing, noting that the young graduates were simply answering the call to serve their country.
He expressed solidarity with the victims’ families and urged security agencies to intensify efforts to rescue them safely.
He also called for stronger security along major inter-state routes, particularly those frequently used by prospective corps members.
“I appeal to those responsible to recognise the sanctity of human life. I pray for the safe return of all the abducted corps members, and I urge the affected families to remain calm while the security agencies work to bring them home,” Alli said in a statement issued on Saturday via his X handle.
Presidency, NYSC Keep Mum
Since the abduction was reported, the Presidency and NYSC management have not issued statements on the incident, according to checks by our reporter.
Meanwhile, the Imo State Police Command said it had located the camp where the 19 prospective corps members were being held.
However, the command said security operatives had delayed the rescue operation because of fears that the area had been planted with improvised explosive devices.
The Commissioner of Police in Imo State, Audu Garba Bosso, disclosed this on Saturday during a media interview while providing an update on efforts to rescue the victims.
Bosso said security operatives had tracked the abductors into the bush before deploying drones on Friday to determine their exact location.
According to him, the drone surveillance successfully identified the suspected camp, but security agencies could not immediately advance into the area because intelligence indicated that the location had been mined with IEDs.
“But our predicament is that with the intel we have, the IED is—the camp is mined with IEDs,” the commissioner said.
Bosso said security agencies were preparing to enter the area with heavy equipment to reduce the risks associated with the suspected explosives and facilitate the safe rescue of the victims.
For the 19 prospective corps members and their families, the journey that began as a call to national service has become a desperate wait for freedom.
Their families now await one thing above all else: their safe return. And that wait should not be long.
