I Paid N6m For My Son’s Release – Mother Of Freed NYSC Member

A mother of one of the prospective National Youth Service Corps members abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway has revealed that she paid N6 million ransom to secure her son’s release.

The prospective corps members were kidnapped on October 1 when gunmen attacked two 18-seater buses travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State.

Speaking to News Central Television on Wednesday, the woman said the kidnappers initially demanded N50 million for each victim before eventually reducing the amount demanded for her son to N6 million.

She said, “Initially, they asked us to pay N50 million per head. We asked whether the amount was for all of them, but they insisted that no, it was for each person.

“Three days ago, they called and said we should pay N15 million. We kept begging them that all we had was N5.5 million. They said no and insisted on N6 million. So, it’s that N6 million we paid.”

According to her, the kidnappers asked relatives of the victims to send representatives to Ibadan to arrange the ransom payment.

She said her husband and elder son went to meet the abductors, who instructed them to transfer the ransom to an account and later convert the money to dollars after reaching Imo State.

The woman said her elder son was among those who delivered the ransom, after which the abductors released the victims.

“It was the brother who called us this evening to say that they had handed the ransom to the kidnappers and that they had released our son. We also spoke to the boy,” she said.

She added that the ordeal left her traumatised and unable to sleep while her son was in captivity.

“Since he was kidnapped, I have been stooling. I couldn’t sleep either. But I was relieved when I heard they had been released. It was as though the chains all over me were loosened,” she said.