Families of the 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted in Imo State have revealed that they paid millions of naira in ransom before the victims were released, raising fresh questions about the circumstances surrounding their rescue by security agencies.

Some of the families reportedly paid between N3 million and N6 million to secure the release of their loved ones, according to accounts reported by News Central Television.

The revelations came after the corps members, who had spent seven days in captivity while travelling to their orientation camp in Imo State, were released alongside another abducted person during an operation involving the Nigerian Army, Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies.

One of the mothers told the television station: “I paid as much as N3 million as ransom while I was hoping that nothing happened to my child. I ran helter-skelter to raise the money. I eventually got the money and sent someone to Imo State to deliver the ransom.”

The father of another rescued corps member said: “We had to converge somewhere in Ibadan, Oyo State, to put the money together. Some of us even changed the money to dollars and sent it to Imo State to meet whoever was coming to pick it.”

While expressing relief over his son’s return, the father said the ransom had left him with a heavy financial burden, adding: “I’m just a farmer.”

The revelations have given fresh context to questions raised by the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) over how the victims regained their freedom.

HURIWA, while commending the security agencies for the safe return of the prospective corps members, said Nigerians deserved clarification on whether the victims were rescued from the kidnappers’ hideout or released following negotiations with their abductors.

The organisation said the issue was important because no suspected kidnapper had been publicly reported arrested in connection with the abduction.

The Imo State Police Command had earlier disclosed that its operatives traced the kidnappers’ hideout through drone surveillance but encountered difficulties accessing the location after reportedly discovering that the area had been planted with improvised explosive devices. Additional equipment, including bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers, was subsequently deployed to facilitate access.

HURIWA asked what happened after the security agencies located the hideout.

“Were the 20 prospective corps members actually rescued by the security forces, or were they released after the payment of ransom?” the group asked.

The rights organisation said the abductors were initially reported to have demanded N50 million for each victim, amounting to N1 billion, before reducing the demand to N5 million per person, or N100 million for the 20 victims.

HURIWA stressed that it was not accusing any government agency of paying ransom, but said Nigerians deserved transparency about the circumstances surrounding the release, particularly in light of the accounts now emerging from the victims’ families.

Also, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended the Nigerian Army, police, DSS and other security agencies for the safe return of the 20 prospective corps members and another recently abducted person in the South-East.

Marwa described the rescue as evidence of what coordinated, intelligence-driven operations could achieve, saying corps members serving the country deserved the protection of the nation.