The Department of State Services has arraigned five suspects in connection with the abduction of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps members and a civilian along the Owerri–Onitsha Expressway in Imo State.
The suspects are Mohammed Ali, Usman Aliyu, Babangida Aliyu, Ibrahim Jiji and Aminu Haliru.
The case is being heard at the State High Court in Owerri following their arrests during intelligence-driven operations conducted in Rivers and Abia states between October 10 and 14.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the DSS said three of the suspects — Usman Aliyu, 25, also known as Chonge; Babangida Aliyu, 21; and Mohammed Ali, also known as Smallie Pepper, 23 — were specifically charged over the alleged abduction of the prospective corps members.
The agency said the trio faced charges of conspiracy to commit hostage-taking under Section 6 of the Imo State Prohibition of Hostage Taking and Related Offences Law No. 4 of 2009.
The DSS also alleged that the defendants were found in possession of three AK-47 rifles, four magazines, a pistol and 81 rounds of live ammunition.
The prospective corps members were kidnapped in the early hours of October 1 after gunmen attacked two 18-seater buses travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.
The attackers reportedly intercepted the buses near Umunoha in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State at about 6:30am before taking the victims into a nearby forest.
Imo State Police Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye, had disclosed that 10 victims were rescued shortly after the attack, while security personnel began operations to locate those who remained in captivity.
The incident later generated further concern after the kidnappers reportedly contacted the victims’ families and demanded N1 billion in ransom, giving them 24 hours to raise the money.
The demand was subsequently said to have been reduced to N5 million per victim, bringing the reported ransom for the 20 corps members to N100 million.
On October 7, a combined team of DSS, military and police personnel rescued the abducted victims from the Amakohia-Ubi forest in Imo State following prolonged search operations.
The freed victims were subsequently given medical attention.
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However, the circumstances surrounding the rescue later came under scrutiny after Alirat Wahab, whose son was among those abducted, told News Central Television that her family paid N6 million to secure his release.
Her account differed from the version given by security agencies regarding the rescue operation.
Wahab and her husband, Obasanjo, later disclosed that the money raised by their family towards the ransom had been refunded.
Following the rescue operation, security agencies intensified efforts to track down those allegedly responsible for the abduction.
The DSS-led joint operations involving military, police and other security personnel resulted in the arrest of five suspects in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and Aba, Abia State, between October 10 and 14.
Three other suspected members of the gang reportedly escaped during the operations, sustaining varying degrees of gunshot injuries.
Security agencies have since launched a manhunt for the fleeing suspects and other members of the alleged kidnapping network.