The Imo State Police Command says it has located the camp where 19 prospective National Youth Service Corps members abducted in the state are believed to be held.
The state Commissioner of Police, Audu Garba Bosso, disclosed this on Saturday, saying security operatives had yet to enter the location because intelligence indicated that the area had been planted with improvised explosive devices.
According to him, security personnel tracked the abductors into the bush and deployed drones on Friday, which helped to identify the suspected location of the victims.
He said, “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 coordinate showed us where they are because we ran drones yesterday. And the drone actually showed us exactly their location.
“But our predicament is that with the intel we have, the camp is mined with IEDs.”
Bosso said the security agencies were making preparations to safely enter the area with heavy equipment and armoured personnel carriers.
He added, “We are moving in there with high-velocity vehicles, that is, bulldozers. We’re moving in with bulldozers and APCs to see how we’re going to rescue these victims unhurt.”
The 19 prospective corps members were reportedly abducted on Thursday while travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.
The victims were said to be travelling in two buses along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in the Umunoha area of Imo State when gunmen intercepted them.
The Managing Director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited, Isiah Akpan, reportedly said the attackers took the 19 passengers into the bush after the drivers escaped and alerted security personnel at a nearby checkpoint.
The abductors have reportedly demanded N50 million for each victim, bringing the alleged ransom to N950 million.
A relative of one of the victims had also disclosed that the abductors contacted the family using the victim’s phone, with some families reportedly seeing their loved ones during a video call.
The Imo State Police Command had earlier announced that 10 people were rescued during the operation, although the command’s spokesperson, Henry Okoye, could not confirm whether those rescued were among the abducted prospective corps members.
The latest development comes as security agencies intensify efforts to reach the victims and secure their safe release.
