Mother of Freed NYSC Member Reveals How Family Paid Ransom, "It's that N6m We Paid"
- A mother revealed that abductors initially demanded N50 million per victim before negotiations brought the figure down significantly
- The family sent three representatives to meet the kidnappers in Ibadan and later converted the ransom money to dollars in Imo State
- Nigeria Police Force confirmed the victims were rescued on October 7, 2026, at Amakohia Ubi Village, Imo State, by a joint security team
PAY ATTENTION: Mark Legit.ng as a preferred source, and our content will appear higher in your Google feed!
Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over eight years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international issues
A mother whose son was among the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha expressway has revealed that her family paid N6 million in ransom before his release.
Legit.ng reports that 20 NYSC members and one civilian have been rescued following their abduction in Imo State, in a coordinated operation carried out by multiple security agencies.
Source: Twitter
The woman, whose name was not disclosed, said the kidnappers originally demanded N50 million per person.
As reported by TheCable, the woman stated this on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, during an interview with News Central Television.
During the interview, she gave the first detailed account from a victim's family since the corps members were freed.
From N50 million to N6 million
She said the abductors opened negotiations with an extraordinary demand, insisting the N50 million figure applied to each of the 20 victims held in the bush, not the group as a whole. After days of back-and-forth, the family managed to bring the figure down.
"Initially, they asked us to pay N50 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 N500,000. But they said no and started scaring us," she said in Yoruba.
"Three days ago, they called and said we should pay N15 million. We kept begging them that all we had was N5.5 million. They said no and insisted on N6 million. So, it's that N6 million we paid."
How the ransom was delivered
She said the kidnappers instructed the parents of all the victims to send three representatives each to a meeting point in Ibadan. Her husband and her son's elder brother made the trip.
"When they got to the meeting place, they asked them to send the money to an account and that when they got to Imo State, they should change the money into dollars," she said.
Her elder son was among those who physically handed over the ransom. It was he who called the family to confirm the handover and the subsequent release.
"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 said.
The woman described the emotional toll of the ordeal, saying she neither slept nor felt at ease for the entire duration of her son's captivity.
"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.
Source: Original
Kidnapped NYSC members: Mother reveals son’s secret message
Meanwhile, Legit.ng also reported that a 55-year-old Ibadan woman, Janet Oladosu, appealed to the Federal Government and security agencies to prioritise rescuing 20 abducted prospective corps members.
Oladosu's son, Greatness, secretly texted her from captivity after the group was abducted near Umunoha in Mbaitoli LGA, Imo State, on October 1, 2026.
Pan-Yoruba group Afenifere called on the FG to urgently amend the NYSC Act to allow graduates to serve closer to their states of origin.
Source: Legit.ng
