By Ngozi Nwankwo
The Oyo State Government has commenced collaboration with the Imo State Government and security agencies to secure the release of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted in Imo State.
The victims, all indigenes of Oyo State, were travelling from Ibadan to their NYSC orientation camps on Thursday when gunmen attacked the two buses conveying them along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State.
The abductors reportedly demanded N50 million for each victim, putting the total ransom at N1 billion.
Oyo State Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, disclosed the government’s efforts in a statement issued in Ibadan on Sunday.
He said the state was maintaining direct contact with the Imo State Government while also working with security agencies in both states to facilitate the safe rescue of the victims.
According to him, Oyo State was sharing its experience from the Oriire kidnapping incident as part of the ongoing efforts to resolve the situation.
Oyelade added that the report of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the Oriire abduction, submitted last week by the panel led by Justice (Professor) Mojeed Owoade, was also being considered in the discussions between the two states.
He explained that governments often refrain from disclosing details of security operations where doing so could jeopardise efforts to rescue victims.
“The focus should indeed be on the Federal Government and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, who are responsible for national security, particularly on the actions taken within the first 72 hours of the incident,” he said.
The commissioner also recalled that Governor Seyi Makinde had appealed to President Bola Tinubu to urgently intervene in the abduction of 40 Borno students kidnapped on May 15.
The incident occurred on the same day that students and teachers of Esinele and Yawota communities in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State were abducted.
