The Department of State Services (DSS), in collaboration with the military and the Nigeria Police Force, has arrested five suspects allegedly connected to the abduction of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in Imo State.
The suspects were apprehended during intelligence-led operations conducted between October 10 and 14, 2026, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and Aba South Local Government Area of Abia State.
Three other suspected gang members reportedly escaped during the operations with gunshot injuries, prompting security agencies to intensify efforts to apprehend them.
The arrests followed the abduction of the prospective corps members on October 1, when armed men reportedly intercepted vehicles conveying them along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway near Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State.
The victims were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their assigned NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when they were seized and taken into a nearby forest.
The 20 prospective corps members and another passenger were eventually rescued on October 7 during a coordinated security operation at Amakohia-Ubi in Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State.
Following their rescue, the victims were taken to the DSS hospital in Owerri for medical attention and necessary examinations.
Read Also: tinubu-extends-tenures-of-correctional-immigration-service-chiefs
During the search for the abductees, Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso, disclosed that security operatives deployed drone surveillance to locate the suspected kidnappers at a forest hideout.
However, the operation reportedly encountered difficulties after the area was found to have been planted with improvised explosive devices (IEDs), delaying the security team’s advance.
The incident had earlier generated concerns over the safety of prospective corps members travelling to orientation camps across the country.
Reports also indicated that the kidnappers initially demanded N1 billion in ransom before allegedly reducing the demand to N5 million per victim, amounting to N100 million for the 20 abductees.
Families of some of the victims reportedly raised millions of naira to secure their relatives’ release. Some parents later said money contributed towards the ransom was returned, although they could not establish whether the funds had reached the kidnappers.
Bosso, however, said he was unaware of any ransom payment, maintaining that pressure from security operatives forced the abductors to release their captives.
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) had also called for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the abduction, particularly the movement of the vehicles conveying the prospective corps members.
Although five suspects have now been arrested, details of their identities, the specific allegations against them, and whether they have been formally charged in court remain unclear.
Security agencies are expected to continue efforts to track down the three suspects who reportedly escaped with gunshot injuries as investigations into the incident progress.
