Families have been thrown into panic following the reported abduction of 19 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to an orientation camp in Abia State.
The prospective corps members, mostly graduates of the University of Ibadan (UI) and Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, were reportedly travelling aboard buses operated by Udua King Transport Services when suspected gunmen attacked their convoy.
During a visit to the transport company’s office in Samonda, Ibadan, worried and distraught parents were seen besieging the premises and demanding information about efforts to rescue their children and wards.
It was learnt that four passenger buses had been commissioned by the company to transport the prospective corps members to the NYSC permanent orientation camp in Abia State.
Two of the buses reportedly escaped the suspected kidnappers’ ambush, while two others were forcefully stopped by the gunmen.
It was gathered that 11 passengers and the drivers of the two affected buses managed to escape, while 15 passengers were reportedly abducted.
According to the transport company’s manifest, those kidnapped include Akande Kehinde, Olaleye Mary, Oladosu Greatness, Obafunsho Rhoda, Abdulrof Anifat, Esther Oyede, Hassan Usman, Ayomide Isa, Mary Makinde and Azeez Adejoke.
Others listed are Abdulrazaq Anifat, Sarah Temilolu, Adeoye Elizabeth, Eniola Samuel and Usman Temi.
A representative of the transport company, who declined to disclose his name, told journalists that the prospective corps members were kidnapped at Ihiala in the early hours of Thursday.
One of the distraught parents, Mrs Alimot Akande, whose daughter, Kehinde Akande, a LAUTECH graduate, was among those reportedly abducted, said the prospective corps members boarded a Udua King Transport Services bus at Samonda in Ibadan for the journey to Abia State.
According to Akande, her monitoring showed that the bus stopped in Onitsha at about 10 p.m. on Wednesday before continuing the journey on Thursday morning.
She said her daughter subsequently sent her a brief and alarming message that simply read, “kidnappers!”, indicating that the bus had come under attack by suspected armed kidnappers.
Akande said that was the last contact she had with her daughter, adding that the message was sent while the passengers were travelling between Onitsha and Abia.
At the transport company’s premises, anxious parents demanded to know what steps were being taken to secure the release of their children and wards.
The reported abduction has also raised fresh concerns about the safety of young Nigerians travelling across the country to participate in the NYSC programme, which was established to promote national unity.
Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan
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