By George Mbgeleke
\nThe Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) demands an urgent explanation from the Federal Government, the Imo State Government and the Nigeria Police Force over conflicting accounts surrounding the release of 20 abducted prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members.<\/p>\n
HURIWA in a statement by its national coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, says the allegations by parents that they raised millions of naira to secure their children\u2019s freedom raise serious questions that the authorities must address transparently.
\nThe association urges President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma to clarify their respective positions and apologise to Nigerians if investigations establish that official statements created a misleading impression about the circumstances surrounding the victims\u2019 release.
\nHURIWA notes that the police attribute the release to sustained search-and-rescue operations at Amakohia Ubi Village in Imo State, while the state government maintains that no ransom was paid.<\/p>\n
However, accounts attributed to some parents tell a different story.
\nOne mother, Alirat Wahab, reportedly told News Central Television that her family raised N6 million after the kidnappers demanded money for the release of their son.
\nWahab said the abductors initially demanded N50 million for each of the 20 victims before negotiations led to a reduction in the amount demanded from her family.
\n\u201cWe only had N5.5m at the time, but they insisted on N6m,\u201d she reportedly said.
\nHer husband also claimed that parents pooled resources, obtained loans and solicited contributions from relatives, friends and sympathisers to meet the demands.
\nAnother mother reportedly told News Central that she paid N3 million after struggling to raise the money and sending someone to Imo State to deliver it.
\nHURIWA says these allegations warrant an impartial investigation, particularly because the families describe substantial financial sacrifices while the government insists that the victims were released without ransom.
\nThe association stresses that a security operation and a possible ransom payment are not necessarily mutually exclusive. The critical questions are whether ransom was paid, whether security operatives conducted a rescue operation, and how these circumstances relate to the victims\u2019 eventual release.
\nHURIWA therefore calls on the Inspector-General of Police to provide a detailed account of the operation and explain whether the police knew of any ransom negotiations or payments before the victims regained their freedom.
\nThe association also urges the Imo State Government to explain the basis of its categorical denial of ransom payment and reconcile that position with the accounts attributed to the parents.
\nHURIWA cautions against treating the allegations as established facts before independent verification. However, it insists that the families deserve to be heard and that the authorities must provide evidence-based answers rather than leave the public to reconcile conflicting narratives.
\nThe association warns that failure to address these questions could further weaken public confidence in security institutions at a time when Nigerians expect greater transparency and more effective action against kidnapping.
\nHURIWA calls on President Tinubu to urgently review the country’s security architecture, strengthen efforts to combat kidnapping and terrorism, and improve the protection of travellers on highways.
\nThe association further insists that if an investigation establishes that any public official deliberately misrepresented material facts about the victims\u2019 release, the relevant authorities must take appropriate action in accordance with the law. Where official statements prove inaccurate or misleading, HURIWA says the authorities should correct the record and offer an appropriate apology to Nigerians.
\nHURIWA welcomes the return of the 20 prospective corps members but maintains that their freedom must not end the search for answers. Nigerians deserve to know what happened, while the affected families deserve clarity about the circumstances surrounding their children\u2019s release and recognition of the financial burdens they say they incurred.<\/p>\n
9 October 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By George Mbgeleke The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) demands an urgent explanation from the Federal Government, the Imo State Government and the Nigeria Police Force over conflicting accounts surrounding the release of 20 abducted prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members. HURIWA in a statement by its national coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-law-crime"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18376"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18376\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18377,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18376\/revisions\/18377"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}