Mother Pays N6m Ransom for Release of Abducted NYSC Member

The mother of one of the 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted in Imo State says she paid N6 million ransom to secure her son’s release.

The woman, whose name was not disclosed, disclosed this in an interview with News Central Television on Wednesday.

She said the victims were abducted on Oct. 1 when gunmen attacked two 18-seater buses conveying prospective corps members from Ibadan, Oyo State, along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway.

According to her, the kidnappers initially demanded N50 million for each victim before reducing the ransom demanded for her son to N6 million.

“Initially, they asked us to pay N50 million per head. We begged them to accept N500,000, but they refused and continued to threaten us,” she said.

She said the kidnappers later demanded N15 million but eventually agreed to accept N6 million after prolonged negotiations with the family.

The mother said representatives of the victims’ families were instructed to meet the abductors in Ibadan as part of arrangements for payment of the ransom.

She said her husband and her son’s elder brother were among those who went to meet the abductors and deliver the ransom.

According to her, the kidnappers directed the representatives to transfer the money to an account and later convert it to dollars when they arrived in Imo State.

She said her son’s elder brother later informed the family that the ransom had been delivered and that the abducted prospective corps member had been released.

“It was the brother who called us 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 said the abduction caused her severe emotional distress, adding that she could neither sleep nor maintain her normal routine while her son remained in 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,” she said.

She expressed relief over the safe return of her son and the other abducted prospective corps members.