The 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and one other abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Imo State have regained their freedom.
The victims are currently receiving medical attention at the Department of State Services (DSS) Hospital in Owerri.
The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, Brigadier General Olakunle Oluseye Nafiu, is presently at the DSS Clinic in Owerri addressing the rescued victims.
Heβs in the company of the Imo State Commissioner of Police, Director, DSS and Brigade Commander, 34 Artillery, Imo State.
The victims were abducted on October 1 when gunmen attacked two buses along the Owerri-Onitsha Road around Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State.
The buses were conveying prospective corps members travelling from Ibadan to orientation camps in the South-East and South-South.
The initial police response led to the recovery of the two buses and the rescue of 10 victims, while security agencies continued searching for those taken into the bush.
The operation subsequently expanded to involve the police, military, DSS and other security agencies.
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, DIG Shehu Nadada, alongside additional tactical resources, to oversee the rescue operation.
Security agencies later located the suspected hideout of the abductors, but an immediate assault was reportedly delayed by intelligence indicating the presence of improvised explosive devices around the area.
The latest development brings to an end the uncertainty surrounding the fate of the remaining abductees, after their families spent days seeking information about their whereabouts.
The abduction had also raised fresh concerns about the safety of graduates travelling to NYSC orientation camps, particularly as the scheme had advised prospective corps members to avoid night journeys and comply with travel safety guidelines.
