The Imo State Police Command has located the suspected camp where prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted in the state are being held, but a suspected improvised explosive device (IED) threat has stalled an immediate rescue operation.
The Commissioner of Police in Imo, Audu Bosso, disclosed this on Saturday while giving an update on the ongoing search-and-rescue operation.
Bosso said security operatives tracked the abductors into the bush along the Owerri-Onitsha Road and deployed drones on Friday to pinpoint the exact location of the camp.
“Yesterday, we were in the bush, we trailed them up to a particular location. But at that point in time, we couldn’t move in to where the coordinates showed us where they are because we ran drones yesterday. And the drone actually showed us exactly their location. But our predicament is that with the intel we have, the camp is mined with IEDs,” the CP said.
He explained that operatives are now preparing to move into the area with heavy equipment, including bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers (APCs), to ensure the victims are rescued unhurt.
“We are moving in there with high-velocity vehicles, that is, bulldozers. We’re moving in with bulldozers and APCs to see how we’re going to rescue these victims unhurt,” Bosso added.
The prospective corps members were travelling in two buses from Ibadan, Oyo State, to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when gunmen attacked them on October 1 at Umunoha along the Owerri-Onitsha Road.
While police initially said 10 passengers had been rescued, families of the victims said those rescued escaped on their own, with about 19 to 20 prospective corps members still in captivity. The kidnappers are reportedly demanding N50 million ransom per victim.
Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has deployed the Deputy Inspector-General in charge of Operations, Shehu Nadada, and two Commissioners of Police to Imo to strengthen the rescue effort.
Police spokesperson, Henry Okoye, said operatives are closing in on the kidnappers and have been briefed on how to proceed safely.
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