Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has expressed relief over the release of prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members of Oyo State origin who were abducted in Imo State, while urging the Federal Government to intensify efforts to tackle kidnapping and banditry across the country.
The state government, in a statement by the Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, yesterday, congratulated the Oyo and Imo State governments as well as the Federal Government on the release of the abducted corps members.
Oyelade said the development had brought relief to the state, describing the victims as “our children” who had been freed from the “bondage of abduction.”

He, however, urged the Federal Government to be more proactive in addressing the country’s security challenges, stressing that it possessed the greatest capacity to effectively tackle kidnapping and banditry.
“The Federal Government, which has the preponderance of power and capacity to effectively nip this embarrassing development in the bud, must be more proactive and live up to its promise to keep citizens safer across the land,” he said.

Oyelade expressed concern that kidnapping and banditry continued to occur in different parts of the country despite repeated assurances from the Presidency on improved security.
“It is worrisome that large pockets of kidnappings and banditry still dominate the Nigerian landscape, the constant robust assurances from the Presidency notwithstanding,” he said.
The commissioner also claimed that no fewer than 200 Nigerians remained in captivity in forests across the country, saying they had been abducted in circumstances where the government appeared to have no clear information on their whereabouts.

The prospective corps members were abducted last week while travelling from Ibadan to their NYSC orientation camps in the South-East. Twenty Oyo indigenes were reported to have been travelling in two buses when gunmen attacked them along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Imo State.
Their release was confirmed on Wednesday, bringing relief to their families and the Oyo State Government after days of uncertainty.

The Oyo Government had earlier disclosed that it was working with the Imo State Government and security agencies to secure the victims’ release, while also making available experience and templates from the Oriire kidnapping incident to support the rescue effort.
The government subsequently called for stronger and more proactive measures to prevent similar incidents and ensure the safety of Nigerians travelling across the country.