Kidnappers Demanded N50m Per NYSC Trainee, Family Says N6m Was Paid for Son’s Release

The mother of one of the 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted in Imo State has disclosed how her family borrowed money and received contributions from relatives, friends and other individuals to raise N6 million allegedly demanded by the kidnappers for her son’s release.

The woman, Alirat Wahab, said the abductors initially demanded N50 million for each victim before reducing the ransom following negotiations with the victims’ families.

She disclosed the details in separate interviews with News Central on Wednesday and Thursday, following the release of the 20 prospective corps members.

According to Wahab, the victims were each briefly allowed access to a telephone during the period of their captivity, which the families used to plead with the kidnappers over the initial demand.

“They first said N50m per child. We pleaded because each child was given the phone for about two minutes, and then they would seize the phone back,” she said.

Wahab said the kidnappers later agreed to accept N5 million, but subsequently increased their demand to N15 millionbefore negotiations eventually resulted in an agreement for her family to provide N6 million.

“As we kept pleading, they initially agreed to N5m, but later refused. They started… we became scared. Later on, around three days ago, they said they would collect N15m from us. We started pleading again, saying we only had N5.5m at the time, but they insisted on N6m,” she said.

The mother said the families were subsequently asked to meet in Ibadan, Oyo State, and send representatives to Imo State with the money.

She said the families were told that about 20 children were being held and that three representatives should be sent for each victim.

Wahab said her husband and the victim’s brother were among those who travelled to Imo State as representatives of their family.

She further alleged that the kidnappers instructed the representatives not to transfer the ransom into an account, but to take the money to Imo State and convert it to dollars.

“When they went, their daddy went, his brother went. When they got there, they discussed that we should not send the money through an account. By the time they got to Imo State, they should go and convert it to dollars. When they arrived, they converted it to dollars,” she said.

Explaining how her family raised the N6 million, Wahab said they relied heavily on financial assistance from relatives, friends and other people, while also borrowing money to make up the balance.

“It was other people that helped us so our money could complete. We borrowed money, and others helped us. Some gave N20,000, some N50,000, some gave what they had. We went to borrow more money, and that was how the total money was completed to N6m,” she said.

She added that some of the contributions were sent to an account belonging to her sister.

“They were sending it to their account, my sister’s account. They were helping with N20,000, N50,000, N5,000. That was how we collected it,” she added.

Wahab’s husband also said the parents of the abducted prospective corps members pooled money to meet the kidnappers’ demands.

He said his family contributed N6 million, while some of the other families contributed N5 million.

“The parents gathered that money together. For us parents, our portion was N6m, while others paid N5m. Our money was more than the others, which we gathered together,” he said.

He said the parents met at Adamasingba in Ibadan to coordinate the ransom arrangements and also made additional contributions to cover the expenses of representatives travelling to Imo State. According to him, each representative contributed N100,000 for the trip.

The family’s account differs from the position of the Imo State Government, which has maintained that no ransom was paid to secure the release of the 20 victims.

Reacting to the government’s claim, Wahab’s husband said:

“They lied! We the parents gathered that money together.”

The family later received confirmation that their son and the other victims had been released after the ransom was delivered, according to Wahab.

She said the victim’s elder brother, who had travelled to Imo State with the other representatives, contacted the family after the release.

“His elder brother was there then. Those who went with us… those who left home. They carried the ransom along. It was his elder brother who called us that morning that they had handed the children over to those who delivered the money to them.”

The other parents subsequently travelled to Imo State after receiving confirmation that the victims had been released.

The Nigeria Police Force had on Wednesday confirmed the rescue of the 20 prospective corps members, who were abducted while travelling to their NYSC orientation camp.

The victims were reportedly travelling from Ibadan to their orientation camp in Abia State when they were abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Imo State.

The police said the prospective corps members were rescued at Amakohia Ubi Village in Imo State following sustained search-and-rescue operations.

The Force said the victims were taken for medical assessment and necessary care after their rescue, while efforts were ongoing to identify and apprehend those responsible for the abduction.

Earlier reports had said the kidnappers initially demanded N50 million for each of the 20 victims, before reportedly reducing their collective demand following negotiations with the families.

However, the families’ account of the ransom payment directly conflicts with the Imo State Government’s position that the victims were released without any ransom being paid.

The conflicting accounts have not been independently resolved, and the circumstances surrounding the ransom negotiations remain subject to further clarification.