Eight members of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) were abducted by gunmen along a highway in Zamfara State, Nigeria’s North-west region.
Straightnews learnt that the corps members were travelling in AKTC bus from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, to Sokoto State, to participate in the mandatory national service when their vehicle was intercepted along a highway in Zamfara.
A source in the transport company confirmed the incident to Premium Times reporter, Monday morning.
The source, who did not want his name mentioned in the report because he was not authorised to speak on the incident, said the corps members were 11 in number but that three escaped from the gunmen.
Apart from the eight corps members, the driver of the bus was also abducted, he said.
“The corps members were offloaded (from the bus) and taken into the bush,” he said. “The police have recovered the bus.”
“They left here (Uyo) on Friday, and slept over in Abuja. It was when they were proceeding to Sokoto that they were kidnapped,” he said.
He said the incident had been reported to government authorities and security agencies.
A Facebook user, Malachy Blessed, at about 9:14 a.m. on Sunday stated in a Facebook post the identity of one of the abducted corps members as Emmanuel Esudue, a graduate of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, Akwa Ibom State University.
He said the corps member’s phone number has been unreachable since Thursday.
Another victim has been identified as Betty Udofia.
A Facebook user, Edidiong Richard, said the kidnappers have contacted Ms Udofia’s parents, and that they were demanding N4 million ransom.
A WhatsApp user wrote too ‘‘My niece, Victoria Bassey Udoka, a graduate of Mass Communication, University of Uyo was in the same bus to the same Sokoto for the same N.Y.S.C. orientation.
‘‘The kidnappers place a ransom of 4 million naira. Please pray for their release and whoever has contact with Akwa Ibom State government House should help me call on our dear Governor, Pastor Umo Eno to please contact his counterpart in Sokoto State for an urgent intervention.’’
