Imo: Kidnappers’ hideout located as IED threat stalls NYSC members’ rescue

Security agencies have located the suspected hideout of kidnappers holding prospective National Youth Service Corps members in Imo State, but fears over explosives at the camp have delayed the rescue operation.

According to PUNCH, Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso, said security operatives tracked the kidnappers into the bush and used drones to identify their location.

However, Bosso said intelligence indicated that the camp had been mined with improvised explosive devices, forcing security personnel to exercise caution.

“Any moment, we’ll still move into the bush. Yesterday, we were in the bush, we trailed them up to a particular location,” he said.

The commissioner added that security agencies were preparing bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers for the operation.

“We are moving in there with high-velocity vehicles, that is, bulldozers. We’re moving in with bulldozers and APCs to see how we’re going to rescue these victims unhurt,” he said.

The victims were abducted when gunmen attacked two buses travelling from Ibadan to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states along the Owerri-Onitsha Road.

Police spokesperson Henry Okoye said security operatives were “closing in on the kidnappers” as efforts continued to secure the victims’ release.