20 abducted NYSC members regain freedom

. Victims receiving medicare in DSS custody

. As stakeholders demand restructuring of NYSC scheme

The 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and one other abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Imo State have regained their freedom.

According to Channels as at 6:30pm on Wednesday, the victims are currently receiving medical attention at the Department of State Services (DSS) Hospital in Owerri.

The prospective corps members were kidnapped along Owerri-Onitsha road on Thursday, October 1, 2026.

The victims were abducted while on their way to orientation camp.

The development was confirmed on Wednesday evening by the Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma, in a telephone conversation with the Olubadan of Ibadanland, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja.

Governor Uzodimma broke the news to the Olubadan at exactly 5:00 pm on Wednesday, confirming that the corps members have regained their freedom.

The confirmation was contained in a press release issued from the Olubadan Palace and signed by the Media Aide to the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Chief Adeola Oloko.

“The Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma confirmed this in a telephone conversation with the Olubadan of Ibadanland, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Rashidi Ladoja at 5.00pm today, Wednesday,” the release stated.

Although details of the rescue operation remain sketchy as at press time, palace sources indicated that the Governor assured the Olubadan that all the abducted prospective corps members are safe and have been released.

The abduction of prospective corps members has become a recurring security challenge in recent years, as thousands of young Nigerian graduates traverse the country to report at NYSC orientation camps in different states.

The NYSC scheme, established in 1973 by the General Yakubu Gowon administration to foster national unity and integration after the civil war, mandates graduates below the age of 30 to serve the nation for one year.

In the last three years, several incidents of kidnapping of corps members and prospective corps members have been reported along major highways, particularly in the South-East, South-South and North-West corridors, prompting the NYSC management to repeatedly advise Prospective Corps Members (PCMs) to avoid night travels and to board vehicles only at designated motor parks.

The Imo State Government under Governor Hope Uzodimma has been battling insecurity occasioned by unknown gunmen and kidnapping syndicates, and has in recent months intensified collaboration with security agencies including the Police, Army, DSS and local vigilante groups to secure major roads leading into the state.

The personal telephone call by Governor Uzodimma to the Olubadan underscores the deep traditional and political rapport between the two leaders. Oba Rashidi Ladoja, a former Governor of Oyo State and now the 44th Olubadan of Ibadanland, is a highly respected traditional ruler whose palace has become a rallying point for national issues.

The Olubadan, who ascended the throne with vast experience in governance and security matters, has consistently called for stronger inter-state collaboration to tackle kidnapping and protect youth.

The release of the abducted prospective corps members is expected to bring relief to their families, many of whom are from Oyo State and the South-West, and to calm anxiety among parents whose children are currently in orientation camps across the country.

Security agencies are yet to issue an official statement on the operation that led to their release and whether any ransom was paid or arrests were made.

As at the time of filing this report, efforts to reach the NYSC Director of Press and Public Relations for official confirmation were unsuccessful.

The Olubadan Palace, however, assured that more details would be made public in due course.

The development has been widely welcomed by Nigerians who have been praying for the safe return of the abducted young graduates.

Meanwhile, parents of victims have appealed to the federal government to restructure and reorganise the scheme.

According to some parents who spoke to Daily Champion believed that the restructuring or reorganisation of the scheme would go a long way in protecting the lives of corps members.

In his opinion, a community leader from Obazu Mbieri community in Mbaitoli LGA in Imo State, Chief Robert Nnorom Unamba said government should restructure the scheme to make way for prospective corps members to serve in home states or their geo-political region.

He recalled, “This is not the first time parents are being traumatised by the kidnapping of their children while on their way on national assignment.”

Chief Unamba however  commended the former Nigeria’s Head of State General Yakubu Gowon whom he recalled established the scheme to encourage reconciliation of Nigerians as a result of the civil way.

He suggested that if the restructuring cannot take place, both federal and state government should then provide adequate security for the citizenry particularly those on national assignment.

“Our roads should be put in good shape for easy and uninterrupted vehicular movements,” Chief Unamba added.

Also reacting, a university Don, Prof. Gilbert Uche Onyeyiri, appreciated the concept of the scheme but called for adequate measures to guarantee security of Nigerians moving from one location to another giving the present state of insecurity in the country

Prof Oneyiri further called for serious mesures to checkmate the consumption and abuse of illicit drugs which he pointed out has almost taken over Nigerian youth.

He believed that abductors, kidnappers and other forms of criminals carries out heinous crimes while under the influence of hards and other prohibited  substances.

Another concerned parent and a frontline politician in Imo State, Chief, Mrs Gertrude  Udensi noted, “We mothers are worst traumatised in a situation like this, those innocent children who were abducted on their way to national assignment were in born by mothers.”

She called for the abrogation of the scheme and cancellation of any other national engagement that corp members mostly participate in.