Bandits Fortify Camp With IEDs Against Military Rescue, Demand N1billion Ransom For Kidnapped Corps Members

Bandits Fortify Camp With IEDs Against Military Rescue

 

OpenLife News reports that suspected bandits who abducted 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in Imo State have fortified their camp with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) to prevent military rescue, while demanding N1 billion ransom for the victims.

The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Garba Bosso, disclosed on Saturday that security operatives using drones have located the exact hideout where the victims are being held, but the rescue operation has been stalled because the area has been heavily mined.

“Yesterday we were in the bush; we trailed them up to a particular location. But at that point in time, we couldn’t move in to where the coordinates showed us where they are,” Bosso told journalists.

“But our predicament is that with the intel we have, the camp is mined with IEDs.”Bosso said security forces had already stormed the forest and were mobilising heavy equipment to breach the fortified camp.

“We are moving in there with high-velocity vehicles. We are moving with bulldozers and APCs to see how we are going to rescue these victims,” he said.

The disclosure came just as parents of the abducted corps members revealed that the kidnappers have given them 24 hours to pay N1 billion ransom.

The victims were travelling from Ibadan to their NYSC orientation camps on Thursday, October 1, when gunmen attacked two buses conveying them along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State.

According to the parents, who visited the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, at his Bodija residence in Ibadan on Saturday, the abductors are demanding N50 million for each victim.

The parents were accompanied by the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, and the Aseyin of Iseyinland, Oba Sefiu Adeyeri.

The Managing Director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited, Isiah Akpan, had earlier confirmed the ransom demand on Friday.

Speaking on behalf of the affected families, Alhaja Akande and Oyebola Akande said the abductors have been contacting them with the victims’ phones and threatening to kill them if the demand is not met.

“They have been calling us since yesterday (Friday) with a demand for N50m ransom each. They are threatening that anything untoward will happen to our children if we fail to heed to their request.

“There is no way we can raise such an amount at this period. Baba, kindly assist us. Don’t let them kill our children,” they appealed.

Responding, the Olubadan assured the families of rescue.”I want to assure that your children would be rescued unharmed. We will relate whatever information we gather to you.

The Police are working round the clock to secure their rescue. Don’t worry yourself, police are up to the task, and nothing would happen to your children,” Oba Ladoja said.

The Oyo CP, Abimbola, said he has been in constant contact with his Imo counterpart.”I had already contacted Imo State CP. We have been talking since the day of incident, and he assured me that the victims would be rescued unhurt,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Nadada, to Imo State to coordinate the rescue.

The Imo State Police Command had earlier confirmed 10 victims were rescued at the scene of the attack, while the Defence Headquarters stated that 20 passengers were abducted from the two buses and a joint operation involving troops of Operation Udoka, the Police, Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigerian Air Force is ongoing to rescue the remaining victims.