‘They Lied’: Parents Of 20 Abducted Oyo Corps Members Challenge Uzodinma On Ransom

By Victoria Isaac 

Parents of 20 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) prospective members abducted in Imo State have challenged Governor Hope Uzodinma’s claim that no ransom was paid for their release, insisting that they raised millions of naira through personal contributions, loans and donations to meet the kidnappers’ demands.

The parents said they negotiated with the abductors and raised between ₦5 million and ₦6 million for individual victims before the graduates were released on Wednesday, contradicting the Imo State Government’s position that the victims regained freedom without ransom payment.

One of the parents, identified as Mr Wahab, said the families pooled their resources to raise the money, with his own family contributing ₦6 million while some other families paid ₦5 million each.

“The parents gathered that money together. For us parents, our portion was ₦6m, while others paid ₦5m. Our money was more than the others, which we gathered together,” he said.

Reacting to Uzodinma’s claim, Wahab dismissed the government’s position, insisting that the parents had raised and delivered money to secure their children’s release.

“They lied! We the parents gathered that money together,” he said.

Wahab disclosed that the parents met at Adamasingba in Ibadan, Oyo State, to coordinate the ransom payment. They also made additional contributions to cover the travel expenses of representatives sent to Imo State, with each person contributing ₦100,000.

Kidnappers initially demanded ₦50m per victim

Wahab’s wife, Alirat, explained how her family struggled to raise the ₦6 million allegedly demanded for their son’s release, relying on contributions from relatives, friends and other individuals, as well as borrowed money.

She made the disclosures in separate interviews with News Central on Wednesday and Thursday, following the release of the 20 victims.

According to her, the kidnappers initially demanded ₦50 million for each abducted prospective corps member before reducing the amount following pleas from the families.

*Parents of the abducted corps members

“They first said N50million per child. We pleaded because each child was given the phone for about two minutes, and then they would seize the phone back. They said N50million; are we fighting a war with them? In their main war, it’s for each victim,” she said.

Alirat said the abductors initially agreed to accept ₦5 million but later rejected the amount and raised their demand to ₦15 million before eventually insisting on ₦6 million from her family.

She said the changing demands heightened the family’s fear as they struggled to raise the money.

“As we kept pleading, they initially agreed to N5million but later refused. They started… we became scared. Later on, around three days ago, they said they would collect N15m from us. We started pleading again, saying we only had N5.5m at the time, but they insisted on N6m,” she said.

The mother said her family eventually raised the required amount through contributions and loans after exhausting its available resources.

“It was other people that helped us so our money could be completed. We borrowed money, and others helped us. Some gave N20,000, some N50,000, some gave what they had. We went to borrow more money, and that was how the total money was completed to N6m,” she said.

Alirat added that some of the contributions were sent to her sister’s bank account, with relatives and other individuals donating amounts including ₦5,000, ₦20,000 and ₦50,000.

Representatives Travelled To Imo With The Money

Alirat said the families were summoned to Ibadan and instructed to send representatives to Imo State with the money.

According to her, they were told that about 20 prospective corps members were being held in the bush and that three representatives should be sent for each victim.

“When they called us that all the parents of the children in the bush… they said about 20 children were in the bush. They told us to meet them in Ibadan, and three representatives for each child should go,” she said.

She disclosed that her husband and the victim’s elder brother were among those who travelled to Imo State.

Wahab said the representatives were instructed not to transfer the ransom through a bank account but to take the money to Imo State and convert it into dollars before handing it over.

“When they went, their daddy went, his brother went. When they got there, they discussed that we should not send the money through an account. By the time they got to Imo State, they should go and convert it to dollars. When they arrived, they converted it to dollars,” she said.

According to Wahab, the family learnt that the victims had been handed over after the money was delivered.

“His elder brother was there then. Those who went with us… those who left home. They carried the ransom along. It was his elder brother who called us that morning that they had handed the children over to those who delivered the money to them,” he said.

He added that other parents travelled to Imo State after the release had been confirmed.

Police Confirm Rescue of 20 Victims

The 20 prospective corps members were abducted on October 1 while travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their assigned NYSC orientation camps in Abia State.

They were reportedly among graduates travelling in two buses when gunmen abducted them along the Owerri–Onitsha Road in Imo State.

The kidnappers initially demanded ₦50 million for each victim, amounting to ₦1 billion for all 20, before the overall demand was reportedly reduced to ₦100 million following negotiations with the families.

The police confirmed the rescue of the 20 victims on Wednesday, saying they were found at Amakohia Ubi Village in Imo State following sustained search-and-rescue operations.

The Force said the rescued graduates were taken for medical assessment and necessary care, while efforts continued to apprehend those responsible for the abduction.

However, the Imo State Government maintained that no ransom was paid for the victims’ release.

The parents’ account directly contradicts that position, with Wahab and his wife describing how families raised money, travelled to Imo State and were informed that the abducted graduates had been handed over after the money was delivered.

The conflicting accounts leave the circumstances surrounding the release disputed, with the parents maintaining that ransom money was raised and paid, while the state government insists that the victims were freed without payment.