Ebenezer Adurokiya, Reporting
NO fewer than twenty serving members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) have been abducted by suspected gunmen in Imo State, in a brazen attack that has sent shockwaves through the South-East.
The corps members were travelling in a commercial bus along the notoriously dangerous Owerri–Onitsha Road when their vehicle was intercepted by the armed men near the Umunoha community in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area.
According to police authorities, the victims were en route from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their respective orientation camps across the South-East and South-South geopolitical zones when the incident occurred.
Confirming the abduction in a telephone conversation with journalists, the Police Public Relations Officer for the Imo State Command, Henry Okoye, stated that the gunmen struck swiftly, forcing the vehicle to a halt before seizing the occupants.
Mr Okoye disclosed that the Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso, has since visited the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
He added that security operatives have launched a full-scale manhunt for the perpetrators.
“The police and other security agencies have intensified efforts to rescue the victims unhurt and unconditionally,” Mr Okoye said.
A Rapid Response Team (RRT) has been deployed to track down the kidnappers, while operatives are currently combing the surrounding bushes in a bid to secure the safe release of the corps members.
The abduction comes just weeks after a similar incident along the Aloma–Egane Expressway, where 11 people, including an unspecified number of corps members, were rescued following a gunmen attack.
In that incident, which occurred at about 4:40 p.m. on Wednesday, August 26, around Ogene Zaria near the Ogene Zaria–Onicha-Igo Junction, armed men emerged from the bush and blocked two buses travelling in opposite directions. Some passengers managed to escape into the bush, but others were taken hostage.
The victims were eventually rescued on August 31 from the Egume Forest in the Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State, following a coordinated operation involving the police, military, Department of State Services (DSS), and local vigilantes.
President Bola Tinubu had hailed that rescue operation, commending the joint security team for safely recovering all the abductees — comprising eight males and 13 females — from the kidnappers’ den.
Today’s mass abduction in Imo State underscores the persistent security challenges facing travellers on major highways across the South-East and South-South regions.
The NYSC has yet to issue a formal statement on the incident.
This is a developing story. More details will follow as they become available.
