Parents of some of the 20 prospective corps members abd¥cted along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway have disclosed that the money their families contributed as ransom has been returned.
The victims were kidnapped on October 1 after g+nmen att@cked two 18-seater buses conveying passengers from Ibadan, Oyo State, to Anambra State. The abd¥ctors initially demanded N1 billion before reportedly reducing the ransom to N5 million per victim, putting the total demand at N100 million.
After seven days in captivity, the 20 prospective corps members were rescued in Amakohia Ubi village, Imo State, during a joint operation involving the police, military and Department of State Services (DSS).
Speaking after her son regained freedom, Alirat Wahab told News Central that her family had paid N6 million toward securing his release.
However, in a subsequent interview, the boy’s father, Obasanjo, said he could not establish whether the community representatives sent to negotiate with the k+dnappers had actually handed over the ransom.
According to him, the families later received refunds of the money they had contributed, including the N6 million his family provided.
“They went to look for the k+dnapped corps members to see whether they would be freed or not,” he said.
“The k+dnappers had asked for representatives to bring the ransom. Since they could no longer hold the corps members hostage, they let them go.”
When asked whether any ransom was eventually paid, Obasanjo replied, “we don’t know.”
He declined to disclose who returned the money or explain exactly how the refund happened, urging everyone to move on from the matter.
“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.”
Alirat also confirmed that the funds were returned to the representatives who had gone on behalf of the affected families.
“They returned it to those who went to represent us. Every parent has received their money back,” she said.
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