The rescued potential Corps members have been reunited with their family in Ibadan, Oyo State after the seven-day ordeal.
The Nation reports that they were released to their family members by the DSS Oyo State headquarters in Aleshinloye at 8:30pm yesterday.
The parents and family members waited for nearly three hours at the DSS Headquarters to welcome them. Upon arriving in the capital city, the adolescents were debriefed.
Before the liberated teenagers were reunited with their families, a DSS operator had spoken to the parents and family members encouraging them not to take any photos or film anything while they waited.
“Parents were reluctant to disclose information even after they received the youths.
But scenes of happiness and appreciation unfolded as the young graduates reconnected with their families after being liberated by their kidnappers after spending seven terrible days in captivity in Imo State.
Some parents cried tears of delight when they saw their children but others were overwhelmed with emotion and could only hold their children’s hands as they walked into the waiting vehicles.
The young graduates who departed Ibadan on October 1 for orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states before they were ambushed along the Owerri-Onitsha Road, gathered in their numbers under heavy security after their successful release through a joint operation involving the Department of State Services (DSS), police and sister security agencies.
The seven-day ordeal has generated deep worry in Oyo State as distressed parents stormed the private residence of the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja and top state officials, for both traditional and governmental action.
One of the Corps members, Akande Morenikeji, recounted the traumatising ordeal in captivity after they were rescued on October 7 at Amakohia Ubi village in Imo State. He characterised the period as mentally and physically draining but highlighted important aspects about their treatment by the abductors.
“It was stressful too,” Morenikeji said, refuting claims that the detainees were chained up in thick chains.
“Yes, we were not chained, the guys, yes, the guys mostly, addressing concerns about physical abuse and gender-based violence she said, But as for us girls, they didn’t do any sexual harassment to us. They didn’t do anything sexual to us.”
The reunion offered some relief to families who spent a week in agony and uncertainty as the thieves first demanded ransom of up to N1 billion.
Mrs Akande, a parent, said she was overwhelmed with delight, adding that there was a big difference between the days of anxiety and the moment news of their safety came through. Daily News Reading
“It’s good news! Great news! Good news!” she said, with the emotional weight immediately lifted: “Ah! “I slept like a baby when I heard they were released yesterday!”
She categorically said that the criminals were not paid any money for their release. “Ah, no ransom, alhamdulillah we did not pay any ransom.
Another mother of a freed corps member, Faith Felicia Abiala, spoke on behalf of families touched by the seven-day kidnapping, describing the emotional toll it took on parents.
“I thank God that I am seeing her alive today, I cannot tell all the tears and sorrow. “I was so broken up on the day she was taken that I couldn’t eat at all, but today my heart is full of joy,” Abiala said.
“I thank God, and I thank the DSS officials, they really tried. The coordinated security response ensured that the youth prospective corps members were returned safely. “The team from Oyo State and the team from Imo State, they really tried and stood by us until our children came out safe and sound.”
Abiala, aware of the serious hazards of long-distance interstate transit for national service, encouraged public authorities to immediately assess the safety of transport for youth corps members.
She said, “I am advising the government that when Corps members are posted to their service states, they should ensure proper security arrangements or allow them to travel by air to avoid these kinds of dangerous road journeys.
The rescued Corps members have since gone through medical examinations in Owerri and Ibadan, even as security officers continue operations to track down the offenders.
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