Kidnappers holding 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps members abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Imo State have reduced their ransom demand from N1bn to N100m.
The abductors reportedly reduced the demand from N50m to N5m for each of the 20 victims.
The development has heightened concerns over the safety of the abducted graduates after their families alleged that the captors had been beating them since Friday.
One of the parents, Alhaja Alimot Akande, said the reduction in ransom had not eased the families’ concerns because the victims remained in captivity and were allegedly being subjected to physical assault.
The prospective corps members were travelling from Ibadan to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states on Thursday when gunmen attacked two buses carrying them around Umunoha on the Owerri-Onitsha Road.
Some of the affected families have identified victims including Makinde Mary Oluwapelumi, Akande Kehinde Morufat, Abdul Temiloluwa Sarah, Adeniran Mariam Olulola, Adefioye Ayomide Isaac, Adewale Paul Iyanuoluwa and Oyede Esther Funmilayo.
The parents also disputed reports that 10 passengers were rescued by security operatives, saying those who escaped the attack did so by running into the bush.
Akande appealed to the Federal Government and security agencies to urgently secure the release of the victims.
She said the kidnappers were not sparing anyone, including the female prospective corps members, and had allegedly been beating all those in captivity.
The parent also disclosed that one of the victims had been allowed to speak with his father over the phone, allegedly because the abductors believed the family could raise the ransom.
Meanwhile, the Imo State Police Command said security operatives were continuing efforts to rescue the victims.
The police spokesperson, DSP Henry Okoye, said operatives were conducting an operation and gradually closing in on the location where the victims were being held.
The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso, had earlier disclosed that security agencies identified the suspected kidnappers’ camp using drones but delayed an assault because intelligence indicated that the area had been planted with improvised explosive devices.
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He said security agencies were preparing to move into the area with bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers to rescue the victims safely.
The incident has also triggered renewed calls for a review or suspension of the NYSC scheme due to growing security concerns.
Several political groups and individuals have condemned the abduction and called for the immediate and safe rescue of the prospective corps members.
Security agencies have assured the affected families that efforts are ongoing to secure the victims’ safe release.
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