A former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, on Monday condemned the abduction of prospective National Youth Service Corps members in Imo State, describing the incident as “heartbreaking” and calling on the Federal and Imo State governments, as well as security agencies, to urgently secure the release of those still in captivity.
Atiku, who is the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress in the forthcoming election, made the call in a post on X while also drawing attention to the prolonged captivity of schoolchildren abducted from Mussa and Lassa communities in Borno State.
The former vice president’s intervention came four days after gunmen attacked two commercial buses conveying prospective corps members along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in the Umunoha area of Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State.
The victims were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when the attackers struck at about 6:30 am on Thursday, October 1.
He wrote, “The abduction of 20 travellers, including prospective corps members, in Imo State is heartbreaking. Some have been rescued, but others remain in captivity.
“I urge the Federal and Imo State governments, and all security agencies, to act with urgency and bring everyone still being held home safely.”
Recall that the Imo State Police Command initially announced that 10 passengers had been rescued and the two buses recovered, while other passengers remained missing. Subsequent accounts from families indicated that 20 prospective corps members were all being held by the abductors.
The police and military have since intensified the search for the victims. The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Nadada, alongside two commissioners of police, to coordinate the rescue operation.
The Imo Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso, later disclosed that security operatives had traced the suspected kidnappers to a hideout in the bush using intelligence gathering and drone surveillance.
However, the planned assault on the camp was delayed after intelligence indicated that the location had been planted with improvised explosive devices. Security agencies have been preparing to deploy specialised equipment to safely access the area and rescue the victims.
Atiku, in the same vein, raised the alarm over the continued captivity of schoolchildren abducted in Borno State.
“In Borno, more than 70 pupils and students abducted from Mussa and Lassa remain in captivity months later. These children must not be forgotten. Their families deserve clear updates, and the public deserves answers.
The Mussa abduction occurred on May 15, when suspected insurgents attacked schools in the community in Askira/Uba Local Government Area and abducted dozens of children. The figures have varied, with the Borno State Government later putting the number of missing pupils at about 44.
On June 29, suspected insurgents attacked Government Day Secondary School in Lassa while students were sitting for their National Examinations Council examinations. Ten abducted students were rescued during an immediate military operation, but subsequent reports indicated that 36 students and a teacher remained in captivity.
By late September, the Borno State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria was calling for the rescue of 78 schoolchildren from Mussa and Lassa who had spent more than 100 days in captivity.
Families of the victims have repeatedly demanded government action, with parents and community leaders staging protests and threatening further demonstrations over the prolonged captivity of the children.
Atiku also criticised the Tinubu administration’s security record, linking the renewed attacks to what he described as a failure to adequately protect Nigerians despite the government’s earlier assurances that savings from the removal of fuel subsidy would help fund security.
He said, “Yet Nigerians remain exposed to kidnappers on our roads, in our communities and around our schools. Young people face danger in secondary school, struggle with unaffordable fees at university, and are now targets on their journeys to NYSC camps. This is a generation being failed at every stage.”
The ADC presidential candidate further questioned the award of pipeline security contracts to what he described as politically connected companies, arguing that the government’s primary responsibility was protecting lives and property.