Breaking: Tension as 20 Corps Members Abducted, Details Emerge
- Gunmen intercepted a commercial bus carrying NYSC corps members travelling from Ibadan to orientation camps in the South-East and South-South
- Imo State Police Commissioner Audu Bosso visited the scene as security agencies deployed a Rapid Response Team to track the kidnappers
- The abduction follows a similar attack weeks earlier in which corps members were seized along the Aloma-Egane Expressway in Kogi State
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Gunmen have kidnapped 20 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members along the Owerri–Onitsha Road, near the Umunoha community in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State.
The corps members were on board a commercial bus travelling from Ibadan, Oyo state, to various orientation camps across South-East and South-South states when armed men intercepted the vehicle. Imo State Police spokesperson Henry Okoye confirmed the incident in a telephone conversation with Channels Television, saying the Police Commissioner, Audu Bosso, had personally visited the scene to assess the situation.
Source: Twitter
Okoye said security operatives were combing surrounding bushes, and that a Rapid Response Team had been deployed to track the kidnappers and secure the release of the abducted corps members unhurt and unconditionally, Channels Television reported.
Security agencies intensify search operation
The commissioner's visit was accompanied by a broader mobilisation of security forces across the area. Okoye said the police and other security agencies had stepped up efforts in response to the abduction, though no arrests had been announced at the time.
The latest attack comes weeks after a similar incident on the Aloma–Egane Expressway, where gunmen blocked two buses travelling in opposite directions near Ogene Zaria Junction on August 26, abducting some passengers while others fled into the bush. That attack took place at about 4:40 p.m.
Eleven people, including an unidentified number of corps members, were later rescued on August 31 by a joint security operation involving the police, military, Department of State Services, and local vigilantes. Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Michael Onoja, told journalists that the victims were recovered from Egume Forest in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State, Vanguard reported.
President Bola Tinubu commended the earlier rescue, describing it as "a well-coordinated Search and Rescue operation carried out by a combined team of personnel from the military, the Nigerian Police Force, the Department of State Services, and local vigilantes," adding that all eight male and 13 female abductees were safely freed from the forests of Ofu.
Gunmen abduct miners
Previously, Legit.ng reported that at least five miners were shot dead and two others wounded after gunmen stormed a mining site in Marit village, Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State, on Saturday, July 26, 2026.
The attack occurred around 1pm amid mounting tension in several parts of the state.
Source: Legit.ng
