Bombs preventing rescue of kidnapped youths, Nigerian police say

What the report says

Nigerian police say they have found the camp where 19 National Youth Service Corps recruits are being held after a kidnapping in Imo state, but officers have not yet been able to move in because they believe the area may be rigged with explosives. Police Commissioner Audu Bosso said drones helped identify the location after the group was taken last week while travelling to youth service orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.

The BBC reported that the abductees were attacked near Umunoha in south-eastern Nigeria as they travelled from Ibadan. Their families are now under pressure, with one father, Omotosho Adewale, saying his child is among those missing and that the kidnappers demanded a ransom of 50 million naira, which he said he cannot pay. He told the BBC he has not eaten for three days because of worry.

Police said bulldozers and armoured vehicles are being assembled for a rescue attempt. The case has drawn wider concern because kidnapping for ransom remains a serious security problem in Nigeria, though mass abductions are less common in the south than in the north. The NYSC is a compulsory one-year programme for many graduates and is meant to promote national service and unity, but the incident has renewed questions about the safety of young people posted across the country.