The Makinde-Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation has urged President Bola Tinubu to intensify efforts to rescue prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted in Imo State.
The group’s demand came as security agencies continued efforts to locate and rescue the remaining victims of the October 1 attack on two buses travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to NYSC orientation camps in the South-East and South-South.
The Imo State Police Command confirmed that the buses were attacked along the Owerri-Onitsha Road near Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area. While some victims have been rescued, others remain in captivity.
In a statement by its Director of Strategic Communications, Richard Ihediwa, the campaign organisation called for the immediate and safe release of the prospective corps members and other Nigerians held captive by criminal groups across the country.
The group said the continued captivity of the victims required urgent government action, stressing that the security and welfare of citizens remained a primary responsibility of government under Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution.
It also urged the Federal Government to intensify efforts to secure the release of other Nigerians held captive in states including Niger, Kwara, Kaduna, Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina and Borno.
The organisation said the incident had heightened concerns over the safety of young Nigerians travelling to orientation camps for national service.
“One hour in captivity is one hour too long, and one victim in captivity is one victim too many,” it said.
The campaign organisation criticised the government’s handling of insecurity, alleging that insufficiently decisive action had allowed kidnappers, bandits and other criminal groups to continue attacking Nigerians.
It also alleged that more than 600,000 Nigerians had been killed by terrorists, bandits and other criminal elements under the Tinubu administration. The figure is an allegation by the campaign organisation and should not be treated as an independently established casualty figure.
The group urged the President to strengthen intelligence-led operations, improve coordination among security agencies and ensure the safe return of the abducted prospective corps members and other Nigerians still in captivity.
The Imo police command has said security personnel located the suspected abductors’ hideout but were exercising caution over intelligence reports of possible improvised explosive devices in the area.
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