The 20 prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) who were abducted in Imo State have reportedly been offered the option of completing their national service in any of the six South-West states.
A parent of one of the survivors told Saturday PUNCH on Friday that the graduates had been allowed to select their preferred states for deployment with the current service batch.
“They have been given the opportunity to choose states in the South-West to continue their service with the current batch,” the parent said.
The development comes amid revelations that the families paid ₦6m each to secure the release of the abducted graduates, despite the police attributing their freedom to coordinated security operations.
The parent confirmed the ransom payment, saying the families had initially kept the information private because their priority was to ensure the victims returned safely.
“As for the ransom, we eventually paid N6m each, but we wanted them freed before disclosing that,” she said.
A relative of another survivor, Joy Zainab, also confirmed that family members and well-wishers contributed towards the payment.
“Alhamdulillah, he has been released and is safe with us at home. Thank you to everyone who prayed, reached out, showed concern, shared his story and supported us financially towards his ransom,” she said.
The accounts support an earlier disclosure by Alirat Wahab, the mother of another victim, who said her family paid ₦6m after the kidnappers initially demanded ₦50m per person.
Speaking to News Central Television, Wahab said the abductors later reduced their demand to ₦15m before agreeing to accept ₦6m following appeals from the family.Read Daily News
“Initially, they asked us to pay N50m per head. We asked whether the amount was for all of them, but they insisted it was per person, so we started begging them to take N500,000, but they refused,” she said.
Wahab said relatives and other Nigerians helped raise the money. According to her, the kidnappers instructed the family to send representatives to Ibadan, Oyo State, where her husband and son met an intermediary.
The money was subsequently transferred to a designated account, and the representatives were directed to convert it to US dollars upon arriving in Imo State.Shop African Art
The NYSC spokesperson, Caroline Embu, had not responded to calls and messages seeking confirmation of the reported South-West posting arrangement as of press time.
How the graduates were abducted
The 20 prospective corps members were kidnapped on October 1 along the Owerri-Onitsha Road, near Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State.
They were travelling in two commercial buses operated by Uko Akwa Ibom Motors and were reportedly heading to Abia and Akwa Ibom states when the attackers struck.
The kidnappers subsequently demanded ₦50m for each victim.
On Wednesday, the police announced that the graduates had been rescued at Amakohia Ubi Village in Owerri West Local Government Area.
However, the victims’ families disputed the police account, maintaining that ransom payments were made to secure their release.
Imo State Commissioner of Police Audu Bosso said on Thursday that he was unaware of any ransom payment, insisting that sustained security pressure had forced the kidnappers to release the victims.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Anietie Iniedu, similarly attributed their release to joint search-and-rescue operations involving security agencies.
The police said the graduates were taken to the Department of State Services hospital in Owerri for medical evaluation.
NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, subsequently visited the victims alongside the Imo State Commissioner of Police and the Commander of the 34 Artillery Brigade.
Renewed concerns over corps members’ safety
The abduction has intensified concerns about the safety of young graduates travelling long distances to participate in the national service scheme.
On August 26, 15 prospective corps members travelling from Bayelsa State to Abuja were abducted along the Aloma-Egane Expressway in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State. Security operatives later rescued them from Egume Forest.
In May, Abuja-based lawyer and serving corps member Eunice Ameh was abducted in Maitama, Abuja, and regained her freedom after a ransom was paid.
Saturday PUNCH also reported that more than 20 corps members had been killed in various attacks between 2015 and 2026.
The recurring incidents have renewed calls for the suspension or scrapping of the 53-year-old NYSC scheme, with critics questioning the practice of deploying graduates away from their home states amid worsening insecurity.
Established by Decree No. 24 on May 22, 1973, under the administration of General Yakubu Gowon, the scheme was designed to promote national reconciliation, reconstruction and integration following the Nigerian Civil War. One of its central objectives was to deploy graduates to states other than their states of origin.Shop African Art
In June 2026, the Federal Executive Council approved a package of reforms intended to improve the scheme, including risk-sensitive deployment, a technology-driven call-up process and an extension of the orientation programme from three weeks to six weeks.
The reforms also include specialised career streams designed to align corps members’ training and assignments with their qualifications and professional interests.
However, the latest abduction has raised questions about the practical implementation of the proposed safety measures, particularly for graduates travelling to orientation camps and those deployed to areas facing security threats.