20 Nigerian Graduates Rescued After Abduction En Route to Youth Service

Twenty graduates abducted while travelling to begin Nigeria’s national youth service have been found alive in Imo State after a week-long search.

The group was located at Amakohia Ubi during an operation involving police, the military and other security agencies, police spokesman Ani Iniedu said.

Iniedu said the search had concentrated on forests and other places believed to be used as hideouts by criminal groups. The graduates were placed in police care and taken for medical examinations.

Abduction on journey to orientation camps

The graduates were travelling in two buses from Ibadan, in Oyo State, on 1 October. They were heading to National Youth Service Corps orientation centres in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when armed men attacked and abducted them.

The National Youth Service Corps is a compulsory one-year programme for most Nigerian university graduates. Participants are assigned to states across the country for community service and related activities.

The incident has raised further concerns about kidnapping along major routes in south-eastern Nigeria, where armed groups and criminal gangs have carried out attacks and abductions.

Ransom demand reported

A relative of one of the graduates said the abductors demanded 50 million naira for the release of one person. It remains unclear whether any ransom was paid.

Before the rescue, Omotosho Adewale, whose son was among those abducted, said he had been unable to raise the demanded money. “There’s no peace of mind. I’ve not eaten in three days,” he told the BBC.

Police had not identified the attackers, and it was not clear whether anyone had been detained over the abduction. Police said efforts were continuing to track down those responsible.

Kidnapping for ransom is widespread in Nigeria, although authorities have outlawed ransom payments in an effort to reduce the financial incentive for criminal groups.