Fresh angle: the sharp reduction in the ransom demand comes alongside reports of the captives being beaten, while Oyo State steps up cross-state coordination to secure their release.
The kidnappers holding 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps members in Imo State have reportedly reduced their ransom demand from N50m to N5m per victim, while allegedly subjecting the captives to physical assault.
The development has heightened concerns among the victims’ families as the deadline reportedly issued by the abductors for payment of the ransom approaches.
A relative of one of the victims, Alhaja Alimot Akande, said the captives, including the female corps members, had allegedly been beaten by their abductors since Saturday.
“They are still demanding N5m. They have come down to N5m each,” Akande said.
She confirmed that the demand applied to each of the 20 victims, meaning the kidnappers are now seeking a total of N100m.
Akande, whose 25-year-old sister, Kehinde, is among those abducted, described the situation as “horrible, scary and overwhelming”, appealing to the authorities to intensify efforts to rescue the victims.
She said her sister informed her that the abductors had started beating the captives.
“When I spoke to my sister, they started beating them since yesterday,” she said.
Asked whether the female victims were also being assaulted, Akande said, “They are not sparing anybody. They are beating all of them.”
She said one of the victims had also been allowed to speak with his father, with the kidnappers allegedly monitoring the conversations to assess the family’s ability to raise the ransom.
Akande said the families were relying on assurances from the police while efforts continued to secure the money.
“The police are telling us to still be buying time. We are still looking for the money. Depending on it, they will see them rescued,” she said.
The Oyo State Government, meanwhile, said it was working with the Imo State Government and security agencies to secure the release of the victims.
The Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, said Oyo was applying lessons from the recent abduction of students and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area in its discussions with the Imo authorities.
“We are in close contact at government-to-government level and actively with the security apparatus in Oyo and Imo states,” Oyelade said.
He said the state was “volunteering our template and experiences garnered during the Oriire kidnapping” as part of the ongoing engagement.
Oyelade said the government would not disclose sensitive aspects of its strategy, but urged the Federal Government to provide answers on the broader security response.
“Governments all over the world are not in the habit of disclosing all they are planning in delicate situations like this,” he said.
The commissioner added that Oyo State would continue working to secure the victims despite the abduction occurring outside the state.
“Oyo State Government had not and will not abandon its citizens. We will continue to work endlessly and desperately to secure the release of our children,” he said.
The 20 prospective corps members were abducted on Thursday while travelling from Ibadan to their respective NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.
The two buses conveying them were reportedly attacked along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State.
The initial ransom demand was N50m for each victim, amounting to N1bn, with the families reportedly given 24 hours to raise the money.
The parents subsequently sought the intervention of the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, during a visit to his residence in Bodija.
They were accompanied by the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, and the Aseyin of Iseyinland, Oba Sefiu Adeyeri.
Ladoja assured the families that efforts were being made to secure the victims’ release.
“I want to assure that your children would be rescued unharmed,” he said.
The Oyo Commissioner of Police also said he had remained in contact with his Imo counterpart since the incident.
“I had already contacted Imo State CP. We have been talking since the day of incident, and he assured me that the victims would be rescued unhurt,” Abimbola said.
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