Mother Said She Pays N6m Ransom to Secure Release of Abducted NYSC Member

Mother Said She Pays N6m Ransom to Secure Release of Abducted NYSC Member

A mother of one of the recently freed prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has revealed that she paid N6 million ransom to secure her son’s release from his abductors.

The prospective corps members were abducted on October 1, 2026, after gunmen reportedly attacked two 18-seater buses travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, along the Owerri–Onitsha Expressway.

The mother, whose identity was not disclosed, made the revelation in an interview with News Central Television on Wednesday, recounting the ordeal and the negotiations that preceded her son’s release.

According to her, the kidnappers initially demanded N50 million for each of the victims before eventually reducing the ransom for her son to N6 million.

“Initially, they asked us to pay N50 million per head. We asked whether the amount was for all of them, but they insisted that it was for each person. Later, we started begging them to take N500,000, but they refused and continued to threaten us,” she said in Yoruba.

She explained that negotiations continued until three days ago, when the kidnappers demanded N15 million.

“Three days ago, they called and said we should pay N15 million. We kept begging them that all we had was N5.5 million. They said no and insisted on N6 million. So, it’s that N6 million we paid,” she said.

The mother disclosed that the abductors instructed the parents of the victims to send representatives to Ibadan as part of arrangements for the payment of the ransom.

“They called all the parents of all the victims. Twenty of them are in the bush. They then asked us to send three persons each to meet with them in Ibadan. My husband and my son’s elder brother went,” she said.

According to her, the representatives were instructed to transfer the ransom to an account and later convert the money to dollars after reaching Imo State.

She added that her elder son was among those who participated in the ransom delivery and later confirmed that the abducted victims had been released.

“It is not rumours. They have all been released and sent to us. His brother is among the people who went to meet with the abductors three days ago. They left with the ransom,” she said.

“It was the brother who called us this evening to say that they had handed the ransom to the kidnappers and that they had released our son. We also spoke to the boy.”

Recounting the emotional toll of the abduction, the mother said she suffered severe distress and was unable to sleep throughout the period her son remained in captivity.

“Since he was kidnapped, I have been stooling. I couldn’t sleep either. But I was relieved when I heard they had been released. It was as though the chains all over me were loosened,” she said.

The reported release of the prospective corps members comes after security agencies intensified efforts to locate and rescue the victims following their abduction.