Families of nine National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and a commercial bus driver have appealed to the Federal Government and security agencies to secure their release after they were abducted along the Ijebu-Ode–Ibadan Expressway in Ogun State.
The victims were reportedly kidnapped on Tuesday while travelling from Ijebu-Ode towards Ibadan, with the abductors demanding a ransom of N25 million from the family of one of the victims.
One of the abducted corps members, identified as Dapo, had recently completed his National Youth Service in Edo State and was returning to Ibadan after his passing-out ceremony the previous week.
His sister, Abigeal, said the family last heard from him when he shared a video showing traffic congestion along the route.
She said they became aware of the abduction after another corps member escaped and alerted the family that the vehicle had been attacked and its occupants taken away.
Speaking about the incident, Abigeal said the family initially received a call from the abductors, who used her brother’s phone to demand N20 million.
She said the demand was later increased to N25 million, with the kidnappers giving the family a 24-hour deadline.
“We just heard his voice, he said, ‘Hello mummy.’ We said, what is happening? They collected the phones from him, they (kidnappers) said they are collecting N20 million,” she recounted.
According to her, the abductors called again at about 6:59pm on Wednesday and raised the ransom demand.
“They said the deadline is today (Thursday),” she said.
Escaped corps member recounts attack
A corps member who escaped from the incident gave an account of how the bus was allegedly diverted into a bush path before the attack.
In a voice note shared with The Nation, the survivor said the driver suddenly turned off the main road as the vehicle approached the Ibadan direction after passing Ijebu-Ode.
He said passengers began shouting because they did not understand why the driver was taking the bush route, but the vehicle continued further into the forest.
According to him, armed men emerged and opened fire when the bus reached the area where the kidnappers were waiting.
“As we were travelling, shortly after passing through Ijebu, we faced Ibadan, it was around 7pm, we just saw that our driver turned facing into the bush,” he said.
“Before we knew what was happening, we saw Fulani people came, they attacked us, they were shooting guns repeatedly.”
The survivor said he hid during the attack and later found himself in the bush after the others had been taken away.
He also claimed that one person was shot during the incident. This account has not been independently verified.
Police informed as family seeks urgent rescue
Abigeal said the incident was reported at the Ijebu-Ode Police Station, adding that police officers and local vigilantes had entered the forest in search of the victims.
She said the family initially waited for information from the search team but received no confirmed update before the abductors contacted them.
The bus and some of the victims’ luggage were subsequently recovered and taken to the police station, she said.
However, the victims remained missing as of the family’s latest account.
Abigeal appealed to the authorities to intensify efforts to rescue her brother and the other abducted travellers, saying the family could not afford the ransom.
“Please, we are calling on the government, the security operatives, everybody. To please help us because they have been in the bush since Tuesday,” she said.
“We need our brother back, we need other victims back.”
She added that the family was particularly worried about the length of time the victims had spent in captivity and the condition of those being held.
The incident has renewed concern over the safety of travellers on the Ijebu-Ode–Ibadan corridor. However, the circumstances surrounding the alleged diversion of the bus, the identity of the attackers and the status of the rescue operation require confirmation from the relevant security authorities.
As of the time of the family’s account, there was no confirmed information on the successful rescue of the victims.
