The mother of one of the 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps members abducted in Imo State has narrated how her family raised N6m allegedly demanded by the kidnappers for his release.
The woman, Alirat Wahab, said the money was sourced through loans and contributions from relatives, friends and other well-wishers after the abductors initially demanded N50m for each of the victims.
Wahab disclosed this in separate interviews with News Central, following the release of the 20 prospective corps members.
She said the kidnappers initially demanded N50m for each victim but later reduced the amount following appeals from the parents.
“They first said N50m per child. We pleaded because each child was given the phone for about two minutes, and then they would seize the phone back. They said N50m, are we fighting a war with them? In their main war, it’s for each victim,” she said.
According to the mother, the abductors initially agreed to accept N5m but later increased their demand to N15m before eventually settling for N6m after further negotiations.
“As we kept pleading, they initially agreed to N5m, but later refused. They started… we became scared. Later on, around three days ago, they said they would collect N15m from us. We started pleading again, saying we only had N5.5m at the time, but they insisted on N6m,” she said.
Wahab said the families were subsequently asked to converge in Ibadan, Oyo State, and send representatives to Imo State with the ransom.
She said the families were informed that about 20 victims were being held and that representatives were required to travel to Imo State for the payment.
“When they called us that all the parents of the children in the bush… they said about 20 children were in the bush. They told us to meet them in Ibadan, and three representatives for each child should go,” she said.
According to her, her husband and the victim’s elder brother were among those who travelled to Imo State.
She said the representatives were instructed not to transfer the money into an account but to take it to Imo State and convert it into dollars.
“When they went, their daddy went, his brother went. When they got there, they discussed that we should not send the money through an account. By the time they got to Imo State, they should go and convert it to dollars. When they arrived, they converted it to dollars,” she said.
Wahab explained that the family raised the N6m through contributions from relatives, friends and other individuals, alongside money borrowed to complete the amount.
“It was other people that helped us so our money could complete. We borrowed money, and others helped us. Some gave N20,000, some N50,000, some gave what they had. We went to borrow more money, and that was how the total money was completed to N6m,” she said.
She added that some of the contributions were paid into her sister’s bank account.
“They were sending it to their account, my sister’s account. They were helping with N20,000, N50,000, N5,000. That was how we collected it,” she added.
Wahab’s husband, who also spoke during the interview, said the parents of the abducted prospective corps members pooled resources to meet the demands of the kidnappers.
He said his family contributed N6m, while some of the other parents contributed N5m.
“The parents gathered that money together. For us parents, our portion was N6m, while others paid N5m. Our money was more than the others, which we gathered together,” he said.
The father added that the parents met at Adamasingba in Ibadan to coordinate the payment and also contributed additional funds to cover the transportation expenses of representatives travelling to Imo State.
He said each representative contributed N100,000 for the journey.
The family’s account contradicts the position of the Imo State Government, which has maintained that no ransom was paid to secure the release of the victims.
Reacting to the government’s claim, the father said, “They lied! We the parents gathered that money together.”
The family had earlier confirmed the release of their son after his elder brother, who travelled to Imo State, contacted them.
Wahab said the family was informed that the victims had been handed over after the money was delivered.
“His elder brother was there then. Those who went with us… those who left home. They carried the ransom along. It was his elder brother who called us that morning that they had handed the children over to those who delivered the money to them,” she said.
She added that other parents subsequently travelled to Imo State after receiving confirmation of the victims’ release.
The police had on Wednesday confirmed the rescue of the 20 prospective corps members who were abducted while travelling to their NYSC orientation camp.
The victims were reportedly among graduates travelling from Ibadan to their orientation camp in Abia State when they were abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Imo State.
The police said the victims were rescued at Amakohia Ubi Village in Imo State following sustained search-and-rescue operations.
The Force said the victims were subsequently taken for medical assessment and necessary care, while efforts continued to apprehend those responsible for the abduction.
The PUNCH had earlier reported that the kidnappers initially demanded N50m for each victim before reducing the total ransom demand to N100m for the 20 prospective corps members following pressure and negotiations with their families.
However, the Imo State Government has maintained that the victims were released without any ransom being paid.
