IMO, Nigeria — The Department of State Services (DSS) has arraigned five suspects in Imo State over two separate kidnapping incidents, including the abduction of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members on Independence Day.
Three of the defendants are accused of abducting the prospective corps members travelling from Ibadan to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states, while the other two allegedly kidnapped four persons on October 4, reports Daily Trust.
The five defendants face charges bordering on conspiracy, hostage-taking and unlawful possession of firearms.
Those arraigned over the abduction of the 20 prospective corps members are Usman Aliyu, 25, also known as Chonge; Babangida Aliyu, 21; and Mohammed Ali, 23, alias Smallie Pepper.
The DSS accused the trio and other suspects still at large of conspiring to abduct the victims along the Owerri–Mgbidi–Onitsha Expressway on October 1, Nigeria’s Independence Day.
The victims were travelling from Ibadan to their respective NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when they were kidnapped. They were rescued after seven days in captivity.
The defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit hostage-taking under Section 6 of the Imo State Prohibition of Hostage Taking and Related Offences Law No. 4 of 2009.
According to the charge sheet filed at the Imo State High Court, Oru Judicial Division, Mgbidi, the three defendants were also accused of unlawfully possessing three AK-47 rifles, four magazines, a pistol and 81 rounds of live ammunition.
Two others face charges over October 4 abduction
In a related case, the DSS arraigned Aminu Haliru, 27, and Tange Ibrahim, 20, also known as Jijji, over the alleged abduction of four persons around Owerri and Mgbidi on October 4.
Prosecutors alleged that the two defendants and other accomplices still at large collected ₦8 million as ransom for the release of the victims.
They were also accused of unlawfully possessing an AK-47 rifle and a pump-action gun.
The prosecution listed ₦1.8 million as money recovered in connection with the second case.
A DSS investigator and the victims were listed as witnesses in both cases.
The arraignments follow the abduction of the 20 prospective corps members, which triggered security concerns over the safety of young Nigerians travelling to NYSC orientation camps.
The case also highlights continuing concerns about kidnappings along major highways in the South-East and the activities of armed criminal groups operating in the region.
