Parents of the 20 prospective corps members who were abducted in Imo State have said they each paid N6 million as ransom to secure the release of their children. A mother and father of one of the prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) freed after being abducted in Imo State has disclosed that her family paid ₦6 million ransom to secure her son’s release.
The woman Alirat Wahab, and her made the revelation in an interview with News Central Television on Thursday day, recounting how the abductors initially demanded ₦50 million for each of the victims before eventually reducing the ransom for her son to ₦6 million. Both parents said the affected families gathered the money in Adamasingba stadium, got, paid the flight of someone who got to Imo, changed the money to dollars as requested by the kidnappers before paying the ransom.
The prospective corps members were abducted on October 1 after gunmen attacked two 18-seater buses travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, through the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway.
According to the woman, the kidnappers initially demanded ₦50 million for each victim, creating severe financial pressure on the families who were desperate to secure the release of their loved ones.
“Initially, they asked us to pay ₦50 million per head. We asked whether the amount was for all of them, but they insisted that no, it was for each person. Later, we started begging them to take ₦500,000. But they said no and started scaring us”, she said, adding that the kidnappers later contacted the families and reduced the amount demanded from her family to ₦15 million.
“Three days ago, they called and said we should pay ₦15 million. We kept begging them that all we had was ₦5.5 million. They said no and insisted on ₦6 million. So, it’s that ₦6 million we paid”, she stated.
The woman said the abductors subsequently instructed the parents of the victims to send representatives to meet them in Ibadan as part of arrangements for the ransom payment.
She explained that three representatives were requested from each family, adding that her husband and elder son were among those who went to the meeting.
“They called all the parents of all the victims. Twenty of them are in the bush. They then asked us to send three persons each to meet with them in Ibadan. My husband and my son’s elder brother went”, she added.
According to her, the abductors instructed the representatives to transfer the ransom into an account and later convert the money into dollars after reaching Imo State.
She said her elder son was among those who eventually delivered the ransom to the kidnappers.
“It is not rumours. They have all been released and sent to us. His brother is among the people who went to meet with the abductors three days ago. They left with the ransom”, she noted.
The mother said her elder son later contacted the family to confirm that the ransom had been handed over and that the abductors had released his younger brother.
“It was the brother who called us this evening to say that they had handed the ransom to the kidnappers and that they had released our son. We also spoke to the boy”, she added.
The mother described the period of her son’s captivity as one of the most distressing experiences for her family, saying she suffered severe emotional and physical strain while waiting for his release.
She said she could hardly sleep and experienced persistent health challenges throughout the period.
“Since he was kidnapped, I have been stooling. I couldn’t sleep either. But I was relieved when I heard they had been released. It was as though the chains all over me were loosened”, she said.
The prospective corps members were travelling from Ibadan towards the South-East and South-South regions for the NYSC orientation exercise when the buses came under attack on October 1.
The abduction triggered concerns among relatives and heightened calls for the safe rescue of the victims. The disclosure by the mother provides an account of the ransom negotiations and the eventual payment that preceded her son’s release.
Meanwhile, Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Anietie Iniedu, confirmed the development in a statement on Wednesday, saying the hostages were reportedly rescued by a joint team of the Nigeria Police Force, Army, Department of State Services and other security agencies.
The police said the victims were rescued at Amakohia Ubi Village in Imo State following sustained search-and-rescue operations.
Governor Hope Uzodinma who praised the joint security personnel for the rescue said his government deliberately information about the rescue secret so as not to joepardise the lives of the victims. But Mr Wahab told the television station that “they were lies”.
