Video: Gunmen Kidnap 20 NYSC Members Travelling To Orientation Camps

Twenty members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) have been abducted by gunmen while travelling to different orientation camps in the South-East and South-South.

The corps members were reportedly travelling in a commercial bus from Ibadan, Oyo State, when the attackers stopped the vehicle along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Imo State.

Naija News understands that the incident happened near Umunoha community in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of the state.

The Imo State Police Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye, confirmed the attack in a telephone conversation with Channels TV on Thursday.

Okoye said the victims were heading to different orientation camps when they were intercepted by the gunmen.

He said the Commissioner of Police in Imo State, Audu Bosso, had visited the scene to assess the situation as security agencies intensified efforts to rescue the corps members.

According to him, security personnel had begun searching nearby bushes and possible escape routes used by the attackers.

He added that a Rapid Response Team had also been deployed to track the kidnappers and secure the safe and unconditional release of the victims.

See a viral video from the scene of the incident below.

The latest attack comes weeks after security forces rescued some abducted corps members and other passengers in Kogi State.

The Kogi incident occurred on August 26 along the Aloma-Egane Expressway, around Ogene Zaria near the Ogene Zaria-Onicha-Igo Junction.

The attackers reportedly emerged from a bush and blocked two buses travelling in opposite directions before abducting some of the passengers.

Some other passengers reportedly escaped into the surrounding bush.

The police, military, Department of State Services (DSS) and other security personnel were said to have later launched a joint search for the victims.

The abducted passengers, including corps members, were rescued on August 31 from Egume Forest in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State.

The repeated attacks on major highways have continued to raise concerns over the risks faced by corps members and other travellers, particularly those moving between states for national service and other activities.