NYSC Abduction: Security Operatives Arrest Five Suspects, Hunt Three Others

Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), the military and the police have arrested five suspected members of a criminal gang allegedly responsible for abducting 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in Imo State.

Three other suspects reportedly escaped with gunshot injuries during a series of intelligence-led operations in Rivers and Abia states, prompting a manhunt for the fleeing suspects.

Security sources said the operations were conducted between October 10 and 14 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and Aba South Local Government Area of Abia State.

The arrests followed the abduction of 20 prospective corps members by armed men along the Owerri–Onitsha Expressway on October 1, 2026, while they were travelling to their assigned NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.

The victims were subsequently rescued on October 7 during a joint security operation at Amakohia Ubi village in Imo State.

The latest arrests are seen as a breakthrough in efforts to track down those allegedly responsible for the abduction, dismantle the suspected criminal network and bring the perpetrators to justice.

A security source described the arrests as a relief, saying security agencies had sustained a manhunt for the suspects since the incident.

“This is a huge sigh of relief. Security agencies have been on a manhunt for the abductors, and we are elated that they have been captured,” the source said.

The source expressed the hope that the suspects would be prosecuted and that the victims would obtain justice.

The security agencies had yet to publicly disclose the identities of the arrested suspects or provide further details of the operation at the time of filing this report.