Security agencies have delayed an immediate assault on a suspected kidnappers’ camp in Imo State after intelligence indicated that the location may have been planted with improvised explosive devices.
The development comes as families of abducted prospective National Youth Service Corps members dispute official accounts of the number of people rescued from the attackers.
Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso, said on Saturday that security operatives had tracked the kidnappers to a suspected hideout but could not immediately move in because of the reported explosive threat.
Bosso said the operatives pursued the kidnappers into the bush on Friday and used drones to identify the suspected location.
He said bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers were being prepared to support the rescue operation and reduce the risks to the hostages and security personnel.
Police spokesperson Henry Okoye said security operatives were closing in on the kidnappers and had been briefed on how to proceed.
The Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has deployed the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Nadada, and two commissioners of police to reinforce the operation.
Nadada arrived in Imo on Friday and reviewed the personnel, strategy and equipment deployed for the search and rescue mission.
The prospective corps members were travelling in two buses from Ibadan, Oyo State, to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when gunmen attacked them along the Owerri Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State, on Thursday.
The incident has generated conflicting accounts over the number of people abducted and the circumstances surrounding the reported rescue of 10 victims.
The Imo State Police Command initially said 10 victims had been rescued, adding that the exact number of people abducted was still being verified.
The Defence Headquarters later said 20 passengers had been abducted and 10 people, including eight prospective corps members, had been rescued.
However, parents of the prospective corps members disputed the account during a visit to the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, in Bodija, Ibadan, on Saturday.
Speaking through Alhaja Alimot Akande and Oyebola Akande, the families said 30 people had been travelling in the two buses.
They alleged that 10 passengers escaped into the bush during the attack, while the remaining 20 were taken away by the gunmen.
The families said they first learnt about the attack through a social media post by one of the passengers who escaped.
They also accused the transport company of failing to cooperate with their efforts to establish the identities of everyone on board, saying they had requested the passenger manifest and access to the drivers who reportedly escaped.
The conflicting accounts have left uncertainty over the number of people still in captivity, with earlier reports also putting the number of abducted passengers at 19.
The parents’ concerns have been heightened by a reported ransom demand of N50 million for each of the 20 alleged victims.
They said the kidnappers threatened to harm the victims if the ransom was not paid within 24 hours.
If the families’ account is accurate, the reported demand would amount to N1 billion.
However, the ransom demand and the number of victims remain based on the families’ account and have not been publicly reconciled with the official figures.
Alimot Akande appealed to the Olubadan, the Oyo State Government and security agencies to intervene, saying the families could not raise the amount demanded.
Ladoja assured the parents that efforts were underway to secure the victims’ release.
Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, said he had been in contact with his Imo counterpart, who assured him that efforts were being made to rescue the victims unharmed.
The Oyo State Government has also condemned the abduction, saying Governor Seyi Makinde directed that necessary resources be deployed to support the rescue efforts.
The state government said it was liaising with the Imo State Government, security agencies and NYSC leadership.
For now, security agencies are focused on locating the abducted passengers and securing their release while managing the reported explosive threat at the suspected camp.
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