The DSS has arraigned five suspects over the abduction of 20 prospective NYSC members and four others in Imo State, with alleged ransom and firearms charges.
OWERRI, Nigeria — The Department of State Services (DSS) has arraigned five suspects over the alleged abduction of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and four other persons in Imo State.
The suspects were brought before the Imo State High Court following their arrest during intelligence-led security operations in Rivers and Abia states between October 10 and 14, 2026.
Three of the defendants — Usman Aliyu, 25, also known as Chonge; Babangida Aliyu, 21; and Mohammed Ali, 23, alias Smallie Pepper — are accused of abducting the prospective corps members on October 1, Nigeria’s Independence Day.
According to the DSS, the trio face charges bordering on conspiracy to commit hostage-taking under Section 6 of the Imo State Prohibition of Hostage Taking and Related Offences Law No. 4 of 2009.
The agency stated that the defendants were also accused of unlawfully possessing “three AK-47 rifles, four magazines, a pistol and eighty-one rounds of live ammunition.”
The charge sheet reportedly alleged that the three suspects demanded and collected ₦48 million and an undisclosed amount in US dollars for the release of the corps members.
The other defendants, Aminu Haliru, 27, and Tange Ibrahim, 20, also known as Jijji, were separately charged over the alleged abduction of four persons around Owerri and Mgbidi on October 4. The prosecution alleged that they and other suspects still at large collected ₦8 million in ransom.
The 20 prospective corps members were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their assigned orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when gunmen attacked their buses near Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area. They were rescued on October 7 from the Amakohia-Ubi forest in Imo State during a joint operation involving the DSS, military and police.
Three other suspected members of the gang reportedly escaped during subsequent security operations, with gunshot wounds, prompting a manhunt. The court proceedings mark another step in efforts to prosecute those allegedly involved in the abductions. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty by a competent court.
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