NYSC Abduction: Imo CP Denies Knowledge Of Ransom Payment

The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Autdu Bosso, has denied any ransom payment for the release of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and a civilian abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha Road.

His position, however, contrasts with claims by relatives of some of the rescued victims, who said they paid millions of naira to secure the release of their loved ones.

LEADERSHIP reports that the victims were abducted on October 1, 2026, and later rescued from the Amokohia Uwe Forest in Owerri West Local Government Area following a coordinated security operation.

Speaking with Channels Television on Thursday, Bosso said sustained pressure by security agencies forced the kidnappers to release the victims.

He said the operation involved the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force, Department of State Services (DSS) and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

“We responded swiftly to the distress call. This was a joint operation involving the Nigeria Police, the Nigeria Army, Navy, Air Force, DSS and Civil Defence Corps.

“We galvanised our resources and went into the bush. We did not relent in our efforts and tried as much as possible to make sure that all the crannies within the bush were combed.

“Locations where we had intelligence, especially the Amako community area where the intelligence came from, were combed. At the end of the day, because of the pressure we gave the hoodlums, they eventually released the prospective corps members, and we got them rescued,” he said.

When asked whether any ransom had been paid for the victims’ release, the police commissioner said he had no knowledge of such a payment.

“To my knowledge, no. I am not aware whether a ransom was paid, but we did what we were supposed to do as professionals, and that’s how we got them,” Bosso said.

However, relatives of some of the rescued corps members told News Central Television that they paid substantial sums to the kidnappers.

A mother of one of the victims said she paid N3 million after struggling to raise the money for her child’s release.

“I paid as much as N3 million as ransom while I was hoping that nothing happened to my child. I ran helter-skelter to raise the money. I eventually got the money and sent someone to Imo State to deliver the ransom,” she said.

The father of another rescued corps member claimed his family paid N6 million for his son’s release.

“We had to converge somewhere in Ibadan, Oyo State, to put the money together. Some of us even changed the money to dollars and sent it to Imo State to meet whoever was coming to pick it,” he said.

Meanwhile, Bosso said security operatives were still conducting operations in the area in an effort to apprehend the kidnappers.

He disclosed that the rescued victims were receiving medical attention at the DSS hospital and would subsequently be handed over to the NYSC Director-General.

“They are ill and hurting. The corps members have no serious complaints. They are ill and hurting, and as we speak, the Director-General of NYSC is on the ground and, as soon as we are done, they will be handed over to the Director-General for the needful to be done,” he said.

The commissioner also disclosed that the Inspector-General of Police had deployed additional tactical teams to Imo State following the abduction.

According to him, mobile police personnel and intelligence response teams have been deployed to reinforce security along the Owerri-Onitsha Road and other identified security flashpoints in the state.

“We’ve fortified access, not only the access where this incident happened, but across the entire state where we feel it’s a flashpoint. It has been attended by deployments of more security personnel to make sure that such an incident or any other criminal activity does not take place,” Bosso said.