The Oyo State Government on Sunday disclosed that it was working closely with the Imo State Government and relevant security agencies to secure the safe release of 20 prospective corps members of Oyo State origin abducted in Imo State.
In a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, in Ibadan, the state capital, the government said it was maintaining close government-to-government contact with the Imo State Government while also engaging actively with the security apparatus in both Oyo and Imo states.
Oyelade said, “Oyo State is volunteering the templates and experiences it garnered during the Oriire kidnapping incident,” noting that “the report of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the abduction, submitted last week by the Hon. Justice (Professor) Mojeed Owoade-led panel, is also useful in the ongoing bilateral discussions.”
PUNCH Online reports that the 20 graduates were travelling from Ibadan to their NYSC orientation camps on Thursday when gunmen attacked the two buses conveying them along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State.
The abductors reportedly demanded N50m for each victim, amounting to N1bn.
The Managing Director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited, Isiah Akpan, had confirmed this to PUNCH Online on Friday.
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Oyelade, in a statement on Sunday, explained that governments did not ordinarily disclose all the measures being taken in delicate security situations, particularly where such disclosures could compromise ongoing operations.
“The focus should indeed be on the Federal Government and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, who are responsible for national security, particularly on the actions taken within the first 72 hours of the incident.”
The commissioner recalled that Governor Seyi Makinde had last week appealed to President Bola Tinubu to expedite action on the abducted 40 Borno students, who were kidnapped on May 15, the same day students and teachers of Esinele and Yawota in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State were abducted.
“The Oyo State Government would continue to work with the Imo State Government, security agencies and other relevant stakeholders towards the safe return of the abducted corps members,” he added.
Cc Punch