The 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps members recently freed after being abducted in Imo State have reportedly been given the option of choosing any of the six South-West states to continue their national service, as their families revealed that ₦6 million was allegedly paid for each victim before their release.
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The development comes amid conflicting accounts over how the graduates regained their freedom, with their families insisting that ransom payments secured their release, while the police maintain that sustained security operations forced the abductors to let them go.
One of the parents, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the prospective corps members had been allowed to select any state in the South-West where they wished to continue their service with the current batch.
“They have been given the opportunity to choose states in the South-West to continue their service with the current batch,” the parent said.
The six South-West states are Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti.
However, the NYSC had not officially confirmed the reported arrangement as of press time. Calls and messages to its spokesperson, Caroline Embu, seeking clarification were reportedly unanswered.
The parent also disclosed that the families eventually paid ₦6 million for each of the abducted graduates.
“As for the ransom, we eventually paid ₦6m each, but we wanted them freed before disclosing that,” she said.
A relative of another survivor, identified as Joy Zainab, also confirmed that relatives, friends and other well-wishers contributed money towards the ransom.
“Alhamdulillah, he has been released and is safe with us at home. Thank you to everyone who prayed, reached out, showed concern, shared his story and supported us financially towards his ransom,” she said.
The latest accounts support an earlier claim by Alirat Wahab, the mother of one of the victims, who said the abductors initially demanded ₦50 million for each prospective corps member.
Wahab said the families pleaded with the kidnappers, who subsequently reduced their demand to ₦15 million before eventually accepting ₦6 million.
“Initially, they asked us to pay ₦50m per head. We asked whether the amount was for all of them, but they insisted it was per person, so we started begging them to take ₦500,000, but they refused,” she said.
According to her, family members and concerned Nigerians contributed towards raising the money.
She further said the kidnappers instructed the families to send representatives to Ibadan, Oyo State, where her husband and son met an intermediary as part of the arrangements for the payment.
The funds were allegedly transferred to a designated account, while representatives were instructed to convert the money into United States dollars when they arrived in Imo State.
The 20 prospective corps members were abducted on October 1 while travelling along the Owerri-Onitsha Road near Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State.
They were travelling in two commercial buses belonging to Uko Akwa Ibom Motors and were reportedly heading to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when they were intercepted.
The Nigeria Police Force announced on Wednesday that the graduates had been rescued at Amakohia Ubi Village in Owerri West Local Government Area following joint security operations.
The families, however, disputed the police account, maintaining that ransom was paid before the victims regained their freedom.
The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso, said he was unaware of any ransom payment and maintained that the captives were released because of sustained pressure mounted on the abductors by security agencies.
Similarly, Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Anietie Iniedu, attributed the release to coordinated search-and-rescue operations involving the police and other security agencies.
Following their release, the prospective corps members were taken to an SSS medical facility in Owerri for medical evaluation.
The NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, subsequently visited them alongside the Imo State Commissioner of Police and the Commander of the 34 Artillery Brigade.
The ordeal has taken a physical and psychological toll on some of the victims and their families.
One mother disclosed that both she and her daughter had been hospitalised following the incident.
“Both of us are in the hospital. We are receiving drips and treatment. My blood pressure shot up over this incident,” she said.
One of the survivors, who declined to provide details of what happened while in captivity, expressed gratitude for being alive.
“I don’t want to remember it. I just want to give the glory to God. I thank God that I am alive,” the survivor said.
The incident has renewed concerns over the safety of prospective corps members travelling long distances to orientation camps, particularly through areas affected by kidnapping and other forms of violent crime.
On August 26, 15 prospective corps members travelling from Bayelsa State to Abuja were abducted along the Aloma-Egane Expressway in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State. They were later rescued from Egume Forest by security operatives.
In another incident in May, an Abuja-based lawyer and serving corps member, Eunice Ameh, was abducted in Maitama, Abuja, before regaining her freedom after a ransom was reportedly paid.
The recurring attacks have also revived calls for a review of the NYSC deployment system, with some parents and former corps members questioning the practice of sending young graduates far from their home states at a time of widespread insecurity.
The NYSC was established in 1973 to promote national unity, reconciliation and integration by deploying graduates to serve outside their states of origin.
In June 2026, the Federal Executive Council approved reforms to the scheme, including risk-sensitive deployment, a technology-driven call-up process, an extension of the orientation programme from three to six weeks and specialised career streams designed to align service assignments with graduates’ qualifications.
However, the latest abduction has renewed questions about how the proposed safety measures will protect prospective corps members travelling to orientation camps and those deployed to areas facing serious security threats.
Former corps member Veronica Oloko said the scheme should either be suspended or redesigned to provide stronger security for participants.
“If it won’t be scrapped, then the government should have bus stations for corps members all over the states, with soldiers stationed at the parks. At least, a few soldiers should be in each bus, with the necessary equipment to protect the corps members,” she said.
“But then, this is also a risk because even our soldiers are being attacked in their camps. When the government is able to fight insurgency, then they can return it. I won’t even allow my child to go.”
Another parent, Akeem Kareem, also backed calls for a rethink of the scheme, citing the growing fear among parents over sending their children to distant parts of the country for national service.
Meanwhile, the reported offer allowing the 20 freed graduates to continue their service within the South-West has yet to be formally confirmed by the NYSC.
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