Kidnapped NYSC Members Traced To Forest Camp Surrounded By IEDs – Imo Police

Suspected kidnappers holding National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and other passengers abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway have been traced to a forest camp.

The location was identified through drone surveillance and intelligence operations, but security personnel are yet to storm the area as it is believed to be surrounded by improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

The disclosure was made by the Commissioner of Police in Imo State, CP Audu Garba Bosso.

He said operatives trailed the suspects into the bush and obtained coordinates of the hideout from drones.

“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,” Bosso said.

“Our predicament is that with the intel we have, the camp is mined with IEDs.”

Bosso said security agencies are preparing to approach the location with specialised equipment, including bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers (APCs).

“We are moving in there with high-velocity vehicles. We are moving with bulldozers and APCs to see how we are going to rescue these victims,” he said.

The search followed an attack on two buses carrying passengers along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway on Thursday, October 1, 2026. The vehicles were conveying prospective corps members from Ibadan to orientation camps in the South-East and South-South.

The buses came under attack near Umunoha axis in Mbaitoli Local Government Area while travelling towards Uyo in Akwa Ibom State and Bende in Abia State.

The Imo State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Henry Okoye, said tactical units and other security agencies were deployed to pursue the suspects.

“Two buses, conveying NYSC corps members and other passengers from Ibadan to Uyo, and Bende in Abia, respectively, were attacked by suspected armed men. Following a swift response by the Police and other security agencies, both buses have been recovered and 10 victims were rescued at the scene,” Okoye said.

He said those rescued were safe and receiving assistance, while intelligence-led search and rescue operations continue.

The Defence Headquarters said 20 passengers were taken from the two buses, including prospective corps members, and confirmed that 10 people, among them eight prospective corps members, had been rescued.

It said troops under Operation Udoka are working with the police and the Department of State Services, with aerial support from the Nigerian Air Force, to recover the remaining victims.

Meanwhile, the Oyo State Government said it is coordinating with the Imo State Government, security agencies and the NYSC to secure the victims’ release, as some of those abducted travelled from Oyo.

Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, said Governor Seyi Makinde had ordered the release of resources needed to assist the operation.

“We are fully committed to securing the safe release of our children and will stop at nothing to ensure that they are reunited with their families without harm,” Oyelade said, urging relatives to remain calm.