Twenty prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps abducted while travelling to their orientation camps have regained their freedom after seven days in captivity.
The victims, who were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states, were abducted on October 1 along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway in Imo State.
The gunmen reportedly attacked the two buses conveying the graduates around Umunoha in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area of the state.
The Nigeria Police Force confirmed on Wednesday that the victims were rescued at Amakohia Ubi Village in Imo State following sustained search-and-rescue operations conducted in collaboration with other security agencies.
The police said the rescued victims had been taken for medical assessment and necessary care, while efforts were ongoing to apprehend those responsible for the abduction.
The victims were reportedly taken to the Department of State Services Hospital in Owerri, where they are receiving medical attention.
The Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier-General Olakunle Oluseye Nafiu, visited the victims at the facility.
He was accompanied by the Imo State Commissioner of Police, the Director of the DSS and the Commander of the 34 Artillery Brigade.
The kidnappers had initially demanded N50m for each of the 20 victims, amounting to N1bn, but reportedly later reduced the demand to N5m per victim, totalling N100m.
However, it was not immediately clear whether any ransom was paid before their release.
The release brings to an end the ordeal of the young graduates who were travelling to begin their mandatory national service.
