A former Vice President and the Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Atiku Abubakar, has condemned the abduction of prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in Imo State.
He described the incident as heartbreaking and called on the Federal and Imo State governments, as well as security agencies, to urgently secure the release of those still in captivity.
Gunmen had attacked two commercial buses conveying prospective corps members along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in the Umunoha area of Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State.
The victims were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when the attackers struck at about 6:30 am on Thursday, October 1.
Speaking in a statement issued on his X handle on Monday, Atiku also drew attention to the prolonged captivity of schoolchildren abducted from Mussa and Lassa communities in Borno State.
He wrote, “The abduction of 20 travellers, including prospective corps members, in Imo State is heartbreaking. Some have been rescued, but others remain in captivity.
It will be recalled that the Imo State Police Command initially announced that 10 passengers had been rescued and the two buses recovered, while other passengers remained missing.