After spending a week in captivity, seven National Youths Service Corps members who were abducted on their way to Port Harcourt, Rivers State from the NYSC orientation camp in Ondo State have been released.
Recall that 12 NYSC members were kidnapped by armed men last Tuesday at the Rumuji axis of the East-West Road, in the Emuoha Local Government Area of Rivers state, according to a family member of one of the missing corps members who spoke to a well-known radio station in Port Harcourt.
According to a source who pleaded anonymity, five of the corps members escaped in a brave manner during the incident.
The Rivers State Police confirmed the incident but could not provide the exact number of passengers aboard the bus transporting the teenagers for national service.
However, speaking to reporters in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, a man who claimed his sister-in-law was among those kidnapped stated that the remaining seven abducted corps members have finally breathed the air of freedom.
The man stated that they were released approximately 9 p.m. on Sunday evening near Choba in the Obio/Akpor local government region after a ransom was paid.
He stated, “They were released on Sunday evening around 9. I saw seven of them that there released, two girls and five boys.
“According to one of the parents that came there that day, said they paid a ransom. They were in horrible condition. It was like they used mud in robbing them and if you see their body, maybe they were bitten by mosquitoes or sand-fly in the bush.
“They went to report themselves at the police station where it happened and they took their statement and try to see if they can get their belongings.”
The development has been confirmed by the spokesperson of the state police command, SP Grace Iringe-Koko.
