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Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State has explained why authorities deliberately restricted information during efforts to rescue 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps members and another passenger abducted in the state.
The victims regained their freedom on Wednesday after a six-day ordeal that triggered a major joint security operation involving the police, military, Department of State Services and other agencies.
In a statement he personally signed, Uzodimma said information about the operation was deliberately kept out of the public domain because of the sensitive nature of the rescue effort and the need to protect the lives of those being held.
According to him, releasing operational details while the victims remained in captivity could have endangered them and complicated efforts by security agencies to secure their freedom.
The governor praised the security agencies for what he described as their collaboration, professionalism and patriotism in bringing the ordeal to an end.
He also commended the Imo and Oyo State governments for working together throughout the rescue operation.
The victims were abducted on October 1 after gunmen attacked two buses around Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area along the Owerri-Onitsha Road.
The buses were conveying prospective corps members travelling from Ibadan to orientation camps in the South-East and South-South.
P.M. News had reported that the initial response by security agencies led to the recovery of the two buses and the rescue of 10 victims, while operatives continued searching for those taken into the bush.
As the search intensified, Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Umar Nadada, alongside additional tactical teams and operational assets to Imo.
Security agencies subsequently located a suspected hideout of the kidnappers after deploying drones to track them.
An immediate ground assault was, however, delayed following intelligence that the area may have been rigged with improvised explosive devices.
Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Garba Bosso, said at the time that security forces were preparing to deploy bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers to gain access to the location while minimising risks to the captives and operatives.
There were also reports that the abductors demanded ₦50 million for each of 19 prospective corps members, amounting to ₦950 million, with some families reportedly contacted through the phones of their abducted relatives.
Following their release on Wednesday, the victims were taken to the DSS Hospital in Owerri for medical attention.
NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Olakunle Oluseye Nafiu, visited them at the hospital alongside the Imo State Commissioner of Police, the Director of the DSS and the Brigade Commander of the 34 Artillery Brigade.
Uzodimma also praised the parents of the victims for their patience while the rescue operation was ongoing.
He urged Nigerians to continue to have faith in the Federal Government and security agencies as efforts continue to address insecurity across the country.
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