OBASANJO and Alirat Wahab, parents of one of the abducted members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), have said the money contributed by their family as ransom has been returned, although they could not confirm whether the kidnappers received any payment.
News Point Nigeria reports that 20 prospective corps members were abducted on October 1 along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway after gunmen attacked two 18-seater buses conveying passengers from Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, to Anambra State.
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The kidnappers initially demanded N1 billion from the victims’ families before reducing the ransom to N5 million per person, bringing the total demand to N100 million for the 20 abductees.
On Wednesday, after seven days in captivity, Anietie Iniedu, spokesperson for the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), announced that the abductees had been rescued in a joint security operation involving operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), the military and the police.
The police said the victims were rescued in Amakohia Ubi village, Imo State.
Speaking after her son’s release, Alirat told News Central that her family had paid N6 million to the kidnappers to secure his freedom.
However, in a follow-up interview with the media platform, Obasanjo said he could not confirm whether the representatives sent by the community had paid the ransom.
He said all the families had received refunds of the money they contributed, including the N6 million paid by his family.
Obasanjo, however, did not disclose who returned the money or the circumstances surrounding the refunds.
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“They went to look for the kidnapped corps members to see whether they would be freed or not,” he said.
“The kidnappers had asked for representatives to bring the ransom. Since they could no longer hold the corps members hostage, they let them go.”
Pressed for further details about what happened, Obasanjo said the matter should be laid to rest.
“You know what, let’s forget the matter and just appeal to the Imo State Government. We should be grateful to them,” he said.
“The money has been returned. We just want to thank Imo for a job well done.”
Asked whether the ransom had been paid to the kidnappers, Obasanjo replied, “we don’t know”.
“One person was chosen from my family and the other two from other families,” he said.
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Alirat added that the money was returned to the representatives who had gone on behalf of the families.
“They returned it to those who went to represent us. Every parent…”
