NYSC Abduction: Parents Uncertain If Ransom Was Paid, Confirm Refunds

Parents of one of the abducted prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Obasanjo and Alirat Wahab, have said the money contributed by their family as ransom to secure their son’s release has been refunded.

The parents disclosed this in separate interviews with News Central, days after 20 prospective corps members and a civilian abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway in Imo State were rescued.

Alirat had earlier told the media platform that her family paid N6 million to the kidnappers to secure her son’s freedom.

However, in a follow-up interview, Obasanjo said he could not confirm whether the representatives sent by the families eventually paid the ransom, but disclosed that all the families had received refunds of their contributions.

He did not reveal who returned the money or the circumstances surrounding the refunds.

According to him, representatives from the affected families had gone to negotiate with the kidnappers, who had demanded that the ransom be brought by designated individuals.

“They went to look for the kidnapped corps members to see whether they would be freed or not,” he said.

“The kidnappers had asked for representatives to bring the ransom. Since they could no longer hold the corps members hostage, they let them go.”

When asked to provide further details about the circumstances surrounding the ransom and the subsequent refunds, Obasanjo appealed for the matter to be laid to rest, while expressing gratitude to the Imo State Government.

“You know what, let’s forget the matter and just appeal to the Imo State Government. We should be grateful to them,” he said.

“The money has been returned. We just want to thank Imo for a job well done.”

Asked directly whether the ransom had been paid to the kidnappers, he said, “We don’t know.”

He explained that three representatives were selected from the affected families to handle the matter.

“One person was chosen from my family and the other two from other families,” he said.

Alirat also confirmed that the money was returned to the representatives who had gone on behalf of the families, adding that every parent had received a refund.

“They returned it to those who went to represent us. Every parent has received their money back,” she said.

LEADERSHIP had earlier reported that the Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso, denied knowledge of any ransom payment for the release of the abducted prospective corps members and a civilian.

Bosso said the victims were rescued through the efforts of security operatives, maintaining that he was unaware of any ransom paid by their relatives.

“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,” the police commissioner said.

The prospective corps members were abducted on October 1 after gunmen attacked two 18-seater buses conveying passengers from Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, to Anambra State along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway.

The kidnappers reportedly initially demanded N1 billion from the victims’ families before reducing the ransom to N5 million per person, amounting to N100 million for the 20 abductees.

On Wednesday, the spokesperson of the Nigeria Police Force, Anietie Iniedu, announced that the victims had been rescued after seven days in captivity.

The operation was reportedly carried out by a joint security team comprising personnel of the police, Department of State Services and the military.

The victims were rescued in Amakohia Ubi village, Imo State.