Twenty National Youth Service Corps members and another person abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Imo State have regained their freedom, seven days after they were kidnapped.
The victims are currently receiving medical attention at the Department of State Services Hospital in Owerri following their release on Wednesday.
The 20 corps members were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their NYSC orientation camps in Abia State when gunmen attacked the two buses conveying them along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State.
The abduction occurred on Thursday, with the victims held for seven days before they regained their freedom.
The abductors initially demanded N50 million for each victim, amounting to N1 billion, before reducing the ransom to N5 million per person, bringing the total demand to N100 million.
Following their release, the victims were taken to the DSS Hospital in Owerri for medical assessment and treatment.
The Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier-General Olakunle Oluseye Nafiu, visited the facility to meet the rescued corps members and assess their condition.
Nafiu was accompanied by the Imo State Commissioner of Police, the Director of the DSS and the Commander of the 34 Artillery Brigade, Imo State.
The NYSC Director-General also addressed the rescued corps members during the visit.
The release of the victims was confirmed on Wednesday by the Managing Director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited, Isiah Akpan.
The development brings an end to the seven-day ordeal of the NYSC members who were travelling to their orientation camps when the buses were attacked along the Imo State route.
