The Imo State Commissioner of Police, CP Audu Bosso, has said he is not aware of any ransom payment for the release of the 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps members and a civilian abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha Road.
The victims, who were kidnapped on October 1, 2026, were rescued from the Amokohia Uwe Forest in the Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State following a coordinated operation by security agencies.
Bosso, who spoke during an interview with Channels Television on Thursday, said sustained pressure from the security forces forced the kidnappers to release the victims.
He said the operation followed a distress call and involved personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force, Department of State Services and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
“We responded swiftly to the distress call. This was a joint operation involving the Nigeria Police, the Nigeria Army, Navy, Air Force, DSS and Civil Defence Corps,” he said.
According to the commissioner, security operatives mobilised resources and combed the forest after receiving intelligence on the possible location of the victims.
He said several areas around the Amako community were searched until the abductors eventually released the captives.
“Because of the pressure we gave the hoodlums, they eventually released the prospective corps members, and we got them rescued,” Bosso said.
Asked specifically whether ransom was paid to secure the victims’ freedom, the commissioner said he had no knowledge of any such payment.
“To my knowledge, no. I am not aware whether a ransom was paid, but we did what we were supposed to do as professionals, and that’s how we got them,” he said.
Mother claims N6m was raised for ransom
Bosso’s statement came only hours after the mother of one of the abducted prospective corps members, Alirat Wahab, narrated how her family raised N6m allegedly demanded by the kidnappers for her son’s release.
Wahab said the money was raised through borrowing and contributions from relatives and other individuals following negotiations with the abductors.
She disclosed the details in separate interviews with News Central on Wednesday and Thursday, after the 20 prospective corps members were released.
According to her, the kidnappers initially demanded N50m for each of the abducted corps members before reducing the amount following pleas from the victims’ parents.
The conflicting accounts have left unanswered questions over whether ransom was ultimately paid to secure the victims’ release or whether the security operation alone forced the kidnappers to free them.
Meanwhile, Bosso said security agencies had not ended their operation in the area, adding that efforts were ongoing to identify and arrest those behind the abduction.
He disclosed that the Inspector-General of Police had deployed additional tactical teams to Imo State following the incident.
Mobile police personnel and intelligence response teams have also been deployed to the affected road and other locations identified as security flashpoints across the state.
“We’ve fortified access, not only the access where this incident happened, but across the entire state where we feel it’s a flashpoint,” the commissioner said.
Bosso said the additional deployments were intended to prevent a recurrence of the incident and curb other criminal activities in the state.
He also disclosed that the rescued victims were receiving medical attention at the DSS hospital.
“They are ill and hurting. The corps members have no serious complaints,” he said, adding that the Director-General of the NYSC was already in the state and would take custody of the victims after the necessary medical attention and security procedures had been completed.