Imo corps members’ abduction: Why we’re delaying rescue despite locating victims – Police
Police in Imo say they have located the suspected hideout where 19 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted in the state are being held.
However, security agencies have yet to storm the location after intelligence indicated that the kidnappers may have planted improvised explosive devices (IEDs) around the camp.
The Commissioner of Police in Imo, Audu Garba Bosso, disclosed this on Saturday while providing an update on efforts to rescue the victims.
Bosso said security operatives tracked the abductors into the bush and deployed drones on Friday, which helped pinpoint the location of the suspected camp.
He explained that the rescue operation was being handled cautiously because the intelligence available to the security agencies suggested that the area had been booby-trapped.
“Any moment, we’ll still move into the bush. Yesterday, we were in the bush, we trailed them up to a particular location.
“But at that point in time, we couldn’t move in to where the coordinates showed us where they are because we ran drones yesterday. And the drone actually showed us exactly their location.
“But our predicament is that with the intel we have, the camp is mined with IEDs,” the commissioner said.
According to Bosso, security personnel are now making preparations to enter the area with specialised equipment to minimise the risks to the hostages and rescuers.
“We are moving in there with high, you know, high-velocity vehicles, that is, bulldozers; we’re moving in with bulldozers and APCs to see how we’re going to rescue these victims unhurt,” he added.
The 19 prospective corps members were kidnapped on Thursday while travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.
The victims were travelling in two buses when gunmen intercepted them along the Owerri-Onitsha Road around Umunoha in Imo State.
Isiah Akpan, Managing Director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited, earlier said the two drivers managed to escape and subsequently alerted security personnel at a nearby checkpoint, leading to the commencement of a search operation.
The abductors have reportedly demanded N50 million for each victim, putting the total ransom at N950 million. Some of the victims’ families have also reportedly been contacted through the phones of their abducted relatives.
The Imo police had earlier announced the rescue of 10 people in connection with the incident. However, police spokesperson Henry Okoye said he could not confirm whether those rescued were among the 19 prospective corps members abducted from the buses.
 members abducted in the state are being held.){kind=link}