Kidnappers holding 20 prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) abducted in Imo State have reportedly reduced their ransom demand from ₦1 billion to ₦100 million.

The victims were travelling from Ibadan to their NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when gunmen reportedly attacked two buses along the Owerri-Onitsha Road near Umunoha on Thursday.

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According to reports, the abductors initially demanded ₦50 million for each of the 20 graduates, amounting to ₦1 billion. The demand has now reportedly been reduced to ₦5 million per victim, bringing the total ransom being sought to ₦100 million.

A parent of one of the victims, Alhaja Alimot Akande, said the abductors were allegedly beating the kidnapped graduates while their families struggled to raise the money demanded.

She said the situation had caused serious anxiety among the affected families, who were also relying on security agencies for information about efforts to rescue the victims.

“The kidnappers had reduced their demand from the earlier ₦50m per victim to ₦5 each,” Akande said. “They are still demanding ₦5m each. They have come down to ₦5m.”

The abduction has heightened concerns over the safety of prospective corps members travelling to orientation camps across the country, with families anxiously awaiting the safe return of their children.

The circumstances surrounding the attack and the current status of efforts by security agencies to rescue the victims were not independently verified in the information available for this report.