Police Commissioner Audu Bosso said the Nigerian police had located a camp in Imo state where 19 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members were being held after they were abducted last week. Drone footage guided officers to the site, but officials raised alarms that the camp was "mined with IEDs" and they could not advance without risking lives.
The children, who were travelling from Ibadan to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states, were attacked by gunmen near Umunoha in Imo state. The kidnappers demanded a N50m ransom – a sum that many families, including father Omotosho Adewale, could not afford. Adewale, who says he has not eaten for three days, appealed for government support.
The NYSC, an obligatory one‑year programme for Nigerian graduates, has warned that it would not deploy members to high‑risk areas. Yet the Imo incident underscores how the south‑east remains vulnerable to sudden attacks, a trend often linked to separatist groups but not confirmed in this case.
Bulldozers and armoured vehicles are now on standby as police prepare to breach the camp, but the presence of explosives remains the main obstacle. While paying ransom is illegal, families are under intense pressure to secure the release of their loved ones, and the incident has reignited calls for reforms to protect young Nigerians on their national service journey.
