Gunmen have abducted 20 corps members serving under the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) along the Owerri–Onitsha Road by Umunoha community in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area of the state.

Confirming the unfortunate incident, in a telephone conversation with Channels Television, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Imo State Police Command, Henry Okoye, said the corps members were reportedly travelling in a commercial bus from Ibadan, Oyo State, to different orientation camps in the South-East and South-South states when they were intercepted by the gunmen.

He said the Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso, visited the scene for an on-the-spot assessment, while the police and other security agencies have intensified efforts to rescue the victims unhurt and unconditionally.

Okoye added that security operatives were currently combing surrounding bushes, while a Rapid Response Team (RRT) had also been deployed to track down the kidnappers and secure the safe release of the corps members.

‎The incident came weeks after the police said that 11 people, including an unidentified number of corps members serving under the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), were rescued after gunmen attacked vehicles along the Aloma–Egane Expressway.

The abduction reportedly occurred at about 4:40 p.m. on Wednesday, August 26, around Ogene Zaria, near the Ogene Zaria–Onicha-Igo Junction.

The armed men reportedly emerged from the bush and blocked two buses travelling in opposite directions, before abducting some of the passengers while others escaped into the bush.

The victims were, however, rescued by Joint security forces comprising the police, military, Department of State Services (DSS), and other auxiliary forces on August 31.

The Director, Defence Media Operations, Major General Michael Onoja, told journalists that the corps members were rescued from Egume Forest in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State, after a coordinated security operation.

President Bola Tinubu has hailed the rescue, saying the well-coordinated Search and Rescue (SAR) operation carried out by a combined team of personnel from the military, the Nigerian Police Force, the Department of State Services, and local vigilantes safely rescued all the abductees, comprising eight males and 13 females, from the den of kidnappers in the forests of Ofu on Monday afternoon. (Channels TV)