OWERRI, Nigeria — Gunmen have abducted 20 National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, members travelling through Imo State, police said on Thursday, as security forces launched a search for the victims.
The abduction occurred along the Owerri-Onitsha Road near Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area on Thursday, October 1, 2026, as Nigeria marked its 66th Independence anniversary.
Henry Okoye, spokesperson for the Imo State Police Command, confirmed the incident to Channels Television.
Okoye said the victims were travelling in a commercial bus from Ibadan, Oyo State, to orientation camps in the South-East and South-South when the gunmen intercepted them.
Police did not immediately identify the victims or disclose further details about how the attack unfolded.
Commissioner of Police Audu Bosso visited the scene following the abduction, while police officers and personnel from other security agencies began operations aimed at locating the victims.
Okoye said security personnel were searching surrounding bushes and that a Rapid Response Team had been deployed to track the abductors and secure the victims’ release.
No group had claimed responsibility for the abduction, and police had not announced any arrests by Thursday evening.
The incident comes weeks after another group of travellers, including NYSC members, was abducted in Kogi State.
In that case, gunmen attacked vehicles along the Aloma-Egane Expressway on August 26.
A joint security operation involving the police, military, Department of State Services, and local security personnel later rescued the abductees from a forest in Ofu Local Government Area on August 31.
Police in Imo said efforts to rescue the 20 victims were continuing.
