Parents of prospective National Youth Service Corps members abducted by gunmen in Imo State have accused the Ibadan-based transport company that carried their children of refusing to release passengers’ next-of-kin information, even as families face multimillion-naira ransom demands.
The young graduates were travelling from Eduak King Transport Company’s park at Samonda, Ibadan, to the NYSC permanent orientation camp in Abia State when the bus was attacked around the Owerri axis of Imo State at about 7 a.m. Nineteen prospective corps members were taken into the bush. Some other passengers escaped or were rescued. The group had made an overnight stop near Onitsha before departing again around 4 a.m.
Families who visited the company’s Samonda office seeking the next-of-kin list of those on the vehicle said staff refused to provide it or offer any assistance. One mother, Mrs Iyabo Akande, whose daughter Kehinde Marufat Akande was among those taken, called on the Inspector-General of Police and the government to investigate the operator.
“Please, our government, please, the Inspector General of Police, the transport company Eduak King located at Samonda, please help us investigate them and put fear into them. Call them to account,” she said. “Yesterday morning at their office, we were asking for the next of kin list so we could contact other parents, but they refused to present it or assist us. The company’s driver, Jeremiah, took our children. They must be held accountable.”
Another parent, Engr. Olawale Olaleye, said families were shocked to find the company loading another vehicle when they arrived seeking help. “We went to Samonda, to Eduak King. Surprisingly, they were already loading another vehicle. People are complaining, the company should be held liable.”
When journalists visited the premises, other operators continued normal business while Eduak King’s offices were locked and no official was available for comment.
Several families reported that abductors had contacted them demanding N50 million per captive. Mrs Akande said the kidnappers first demanded that sum for her daughter, then pressed for smaller payments for food and other needs; some parents pooled funds and transferred N100,000 in the hope of protecting the hostages. Engr. Olaleye and others described the demands as far beyond their means and appealed directly to President Bola Tinubu and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde for urgent intervention.
Mrs Rebecca Adewale, mother of 26-year-old Paul Iyanuoluwa Adewale, said the family only confirmed the abduction after repeated unanswered calls were followed by a brief controlled conversation in which her son relayed the ransom figure. Deaconess Kemi Makinde and Mr Bafunsho Olayiwola, whose children were also on the bus, added their voices to the appeals for rescue, noting that ten passengers were freed at the scene while 19 remained in captivity.
Oyo State Government’s Executive Assistant on Security, retired Commissioner of Police Sunday Odukoya, met the parents at the state secretariat and assured them that the government was coordinating with security agencies in Imo and Abia states, as well as military and federal intelligence units. He urged families to remain calm and avoid actions that could complicate ongoing efforts to locate and free the abducted graduates.
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