Parents of the 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, members released by suspected kidnappers have opened up on what transpired before the abductors decided to free them, including that ransom was paid before their release, and that the corpers have now been offered postings to any of the six states in the South-West.
The NYSC members were on their way to the south east were they had been posted to serve the country when they were abducted between Anambra and Imo states.
According to Saturday PUNCH, a parent who spoke in confidence, said the survivors were allowed to choose the states where they would continue their national service.
“They have been given the opportunity to choose states in the South-West to continue their service with the current batch,” she said.
The parent also disclosed that the families paid N6m in ransom for each of the graduates.
“As for the ransom, we eventually paid N6m each, but we wanted them freed before disclosing that,” she said.
A relative of another survivor, Joy Zainab, confirmed that family members and well-wishers contributed towards the N6m ransom.
She said, “Alhamdulillah, he has been released and is safe with us at home. Thank you to everyone who prayed, reached out, showed concern, shared his story and supported us financially towards his ransom.”
The accounts corroborated an earlier disclosure by Alirat Wahab, the mother of another victim, who said her family paid N6m after the kidnappers initially demanded N50m per captive.
In an interview with News Central Television, Wahab said the kidnappers reduced their demand to N15m before eventually accepting N6m following appeals from the family.
“Initially, they asked us to pay N50m per head. We asked whether the amount was for all of them, but they insisted it was per person, so we started begging them to take N500,000, but they refused,” she said.
Wahab said the kidnappers eventually agreed to accept N6m.
She added that relatives and well-meaning Nigerians contributed money to meet the demand.
According to her, the kidnappers directed the families to send representatives to Ibadan, Oyo State, where her husband and son met an intermediary.
The money was subsequently transferred into a designated account, while the representatives were instructed to convert the funds into US dollars upon arrival in Imo State.
The amount allegedly paid by parents for the release of the corp members amounted to N120 million in total, amounting to over $90,000 at the current exchange rate of N1,330 to the United States dollar.
The 20 prospective corps members were abducted on October 1 along the Owerri-Onitsha Road, near Umunoha in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State, while travelling in two commercial buses belonging to Uko Akwa Ibom Motors.
They were reportedly heading for Abia and Akwa Ibom states.
The kidnappers subsequently demanded N50m per graduate.
The police on Wednesday announced the rescue of the abducted graduates at Amakohia Ubi Village in the Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State.
However, the families disputed the police rescue claim, insisting that ransom was paid to secure their release.
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