NYSC Members kidnap: Ransom Now Returned to parents

BY BONNY AMADI

Parents of one of the abducted members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Obasanjo and Alirat Wahab, say the money their family contributed as ransom has been returned to them.

Twenty prospective corps members were abducted on October 1 along the Owerri Onitsha expressway after gunmen attacked two 18-seater buses conveying passengers from Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, to Abia and Akwa ibom

The kidnappers initially demanded N1 billion from the victims’ families before reducing the ransom to N5 million per person, amounting to N100 million for the 20 abductees.

Following the kidnap, on October 7th, being Wednesday, after seven days in captivity, Anietie Iniedu, spokesperson of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), said the abductees had been rescued in a joint security operation involving operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), the military and police.

The police said the victims were rescued in Amakohia Ubi village, Imo state.

Speaking after her son’s release, Alirat was reported to have disclosed that her family paid N6 million to the kidnappers to secure his freedom.

However, in a follow-up interview, Obasanjo said he could not confirm whether the representatives sent by the community had paid the ransom.

He said all the families had received refunds of the money contributed, including the N6 million paid by his family.

Obasanjo did not disclose who returned the money or the circumstances surrounding the refunds.

“They went to look for the kidnapped corps members to see whether they would be freed or not,” he said.

“The kidnappers had asked for representatives to bring the ransom. Since they could no longer hold the corps members hostage, they let them go.”

Pressed for further details about what happened, he said the matter should be laid to rest.

“You know what, let’s forget the matter and just appeal to the Imo state government. We should be grateful to them,” he said.

“The money has been returned. We just want to thank Imo for a job well done.”

Asked whether the ransom had been paid to the kidnappers, Obasanjo said, “we don’t know”.

“One person was chosen from my family and the other two from other families,” he said.