Rescued NYSC Member Recounts Kidnappers’ Torture, Survival On Garri And Dirty Water

Victim says abductors beat captives over phone conversations with their families during six days in captivity

By Henryrich Ojo | Newsworld

A prospective member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), rescued from kidnappers in Imo State, has recounted how her abductors allegedly beat captives and forced them to survive on dry garri and dirty water during six days in captivity. Speaking in an interview with the BBC, the victim said she was among 20 prospective corps members and another passenger abducted on October 1, 2026, while travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.

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The victim explained that the kidnappers provided a phone for captives to contact their families but monitored the conversations and assaulted anyone whose relatives said something that angered them. According to her, the abductors used guns, sticks and their hands to beat victims, with male captives particularly subjected to physical violence. She also described the difficult conditions in the forest, where food and clean drinking water were scarce.

“What we are eating there is just garri… dry garri with mud water. Very dirty water,” she said, adding that the captives had no choice but to drink the water to survive. She further recalled feeling helpless and fearing that she might not make it out alive.

The prospective corps member credited operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and other security personnel with rescuing the victims on October 7. The abduction reportedly occurred when gunmen attacked two buses along the Owerri-Onitsha Road near Umunoha in Imo State. Following their rescue, the freed captives were taken to a DSS medical facility in Owerri for treatment. The incident has renewed concerns over the safety of travellers and prospective corps members moving across states for NYSC orientation programmes.