The 20 prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps recently released by their abductors have reportedly been given the option of completing their national service in any of the six South-West states.
A parent of one of the victims disclosed this to Saturday PUNCH, saying the graduates had been allowed to select their preferred states for the current service batch.
According to the parent, the arrangement would enable the freed graduates to continue their service closer to home following their traumatic experience.
The parent also disclosed that the families paid N6 million for each victim to secure their release.
“We eventually paid N6m for each person, but we wanted them to be released before disclosing that,” the parent said.
A relative of another survivor, identified as Joy Zainab, also confirmed that family members and well-wishers contributed financially towards the ransom.
Expressing relief over the victim’s return, she said, “Alhamdulillah, he has been released and is safe with us at home. Thank you to everyone who prayed, reached out, showed concern, shared his story and supported us financially towards his ransom.”
The accounts are consistent with an earlier disclosure by Alirat Wahab, the mother of another victim, who said the kidnappers initially demanded N50 million per captive before eventually accepting N6 million.
Wahab, speaking in an interview with News Central Television, said the abductors later reduced their demand to N15 million following negotiations with the families.
She explained that the families pleaded with the kidnappers to accept a lower amount but their initial requests were rejected.
“Initially, they asked us to pay N50m per head. We asked whether the amount was for all of them, but they insisted it was per person, so we started begging them to take N500,000, but they refused,” she said.
Wahab said the kidnappers eventually agreed to collect N6 million per victim after further appeals.
She added that relatives and other Nigerians helped raise the money, while representatives of the families were directed to meet an intermediary in Ibadan, Oyo State.
According to her, the funds were transferred into a designated account, with the representatives subsequently instructed to convert the money into US dollars upon arriving in Imo State.
The 20 prospective corps members were abducted on October 1 along the Owerri-Onitsha Road, around Umunoha in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State, while travelling in two commercial buses operated by Uko Akwa Ibom Motors.
They were reportedly travelling to Abia and Akwa Ibom states when the incident occurred.
The Imo State Police Command announced on Wednesday that the victims had been rescued at Amakohia Ubi Village in the Owerri West Local Government Area.
However, relatives of the freed graduates disputed the account, insisting that ransom payments were made before their loved ones regained freedom.
The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso, had said he was unaware of any ransom payment, attributing the release to sustained pressure on the kidnappers.
Similarly, the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Anietie Iniedu, said the victims were freed through coordinated search-and-rescue operations involving security agencies.
The graduates were subsequently taken to the Department of State Services hospital in Owerri for medical evaluation. The NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, also visited them alongside senior security officials.
Meanwhile, the abduction has renewed calls for a review of the NYSC scheme amid growing concerns about the safety of young graduates travelling across the country for national service.
A former corps member, Veronica Oloko, called for the programme to be scrapped unless the government could guarantee the safety of participants.
She suggested that designated transport parks with military personnel and adequate security equipment could be established for corps members travelling to orientation camps.
However, she expressed concern that security personnel themselves were vulnerable to attacks.
“When the government is able to fight insurgency, then they can return it. I won’t even allow my child to go,” she said.
Another parent, Akeem Kareem, said the persistent insecurity had heightened anxiety among families whose children were expected to serve outside their home states.
The NYSC, established in 1973 to promote national unity and integration, has faced renewed scrutiny following a series of attacks on prospective and serving corps members.
In June 2026, the Federal Executive Council approved reforms to the scheme, including risk-sensitive deployment, a technology-based call-up process and an extension of the orientation programme from three weeks to six weeks.
However, the latest abduction has raised further questions about the effectiveness of the proposed safety measures and the protection available to graduates travelling to their designated service locations.
Efforts to obtain confirmation from the NYSC spokesperson, Caroline Embu, on the reported offer of South-West postings were unsuccessful as of the time of the original report.
