Group of 20 graduates rescued after being abducted in Nigeria

A group of 20 young people who were abducted in south-east Nigeria last week have been rescued, police say.

The graduates were kidnapped on 1 October while they were travelling for a national community service programme in the Abia and Akwa Ibom states in the south of the country.

They were rescued by the police with the assistance of other security agencies.

Police spokesman Ani Iniedu said in a statement on Wednesday the group were rescued at Amakohia Ubi in Imo State after a sustained search-and-rescue operation. The group are being looked after and have been taken for medical evaluation.

The police, military and other security agencies conducted intelligence-led searches of forests and suspected hideouts, he said, but he did not say whether any ransom was paid or if any arrests had been made.

But the police spokesman did say they were making efforts to apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

The police had previously said they had identified the location where the group was being held but could not rescue them because it was mined with explosives.

The group of young people were participating in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), which is a compulsory one-year community service programme for most Nigerian university graduates, where people are posted to different parts of the country.

The group were travelling in two buses travelling on a major highway from Ibadan in south-western Oyo state to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when gunmen attacked the vehicles.

The incident has reignited concerns over insecurity and kidnapping along roads in the south-east.

Before they were released, the father of one of the people who were abducted, Omotosho Adewale, told the BBC that the kidnappers had demanded a ransom of 50m naira ($37,680; £28,440), which he could not afford.

“There’s no peace of mind. I’ve not eaten in three days,” he said in between tears.

Kidnapping for ransom is a major security problem in Nigeria, involving criminal gangs and armed groups. The authorities have not released any information about the identity of the attackers.

The government has outlawed paying ransoms to kidnappers in an attempt to remove the incentive for the gangs but this has had little effect.