• Group decries unreliable accounts of rescue operations across Nigeria

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Peter Obi, has called for the immediate and safe rescue of about 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted while travelling to their orientation camp.

Obi described the abduction as another disturbing indication of the worsening insecurity in Nigeria, saying young Nigerians preparing to serve their country should not be forced to travel in fear.

The former Anambra State governor made the call in a post on his official X handle yesterday.
He said the incident was a distressing reminder that insecurity was becoming increasingly prevalent in the country.

“These young Nigerians were preparing to serve their nation, but they were unable to travel safely on our roads. Families are increasingly burdened by the fear that their loved ones could fall victim to kidnapping,” Obi said.
He stressed that protecting lives and property remained the foremost responsibility of government.

Obi urged the authorities to immediately rescue all the abducted corps members and arrest those responsible for the attack.

The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso, has said operatives have located the camp where abducted NYSC members are being held, but explosives have been planted at the site.

MEANWHILE, the Oyo State Government has disclosed that it is working closely with the Imo State Government and relevant security agencies to secure the safe release of corps members of Oyo State origin abducted in Imo State.

The state government said it was maintaining government-to-government contact with Imo State while actively engaging the security apparatus in both states in efforts to secure the victims’ release.

The Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, disclosed this in a statement issued yesterday, assuring families and other stakeholders that the government remained committed to the safe return of the abducted corps members.

Oyelade said Oyo State was also deploying the experience and response templates it developed during the abduction of students and teachers in Oriire Local Council Area to support the ongoing efforts.

He added that the report of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the Oriire abduction, submitted last week by the panel led by Justice Mojeed Owoade, was also being used as part of the ongoing bilateral discussions.

According to him, governments do not ordinarily disclose all measures being taken in delicate security situations, particularly where doing so could compromise ongoing operations.

He therefore urged the public to understand the need for discretion in handling sensitive aspects of the rescue efforts.

The commissioner said attention should also be focused on the Federal Government and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, given their constitutional responsibility for national security.

HOWEVER, the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has raised concerns over accounts of rescue in abduction cases by security forces in the country.

The development follows accusations by families of the NYSC members, who were recently kidnapped in Imo State, that the police were giving a wrong account of the number of people rescued from kidnappers.

The affected families had reportedly rejected claims by the police that 10 people were rescued after gunmen attacked two buses conveying the corps members from Ibadan to the NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.

They had insisted that 20 people remained in captivity as at the weekend, adding that the 10 people allegedly “rescued” by security agencies actually escaped from the kidnappers during the attack and fled to the bush.