The Department of State Services (DSS) on Tuesday arraigned five suspects before the Mgbidi High Court sitting in Owerri over the alleged abduction of 20 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and four other passengers in Imo State.
The first three suspects; Usman Aliyu, Babangida Aliyu, and Mohammed Ali were docked on a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy to hostage-taking, abduction, and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.
Prosecution counsel Mr. Ekezie Nwauzo told the court that the defendants, alongside others currently at large, conspired and executed the kidnapping in the early hours of October 1 along the Mgbidi axis of the Onitsha–Owerri Expressway.
Nwauzo stated that the suspects allegedly collected a ransom of $N48 million alongside an undisclosed sum in US dollars from the victims’ families before releasing them.
The three defendants pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The presiding judge, Justice Emeka Orafu, ordered that the defendants be remanded in a DSS facility and adjourned the case to Thursday for further hearing.
In a related suit, the security agency also arraigned two other suspects, Aminu Aliru and Dangi Abraham, for the alleged abduction of four additional passengers at the same location on the same day.
They were charged with a three-count offense including conspiracy, abduction, unlawful possession of firearms, and demanding an N8 million ransom. Both defendants pleaded not guilty, and their case was similarly adjourned to Thursday.
The prosecution stems from an October 1 incident where armed men intercepted two commercial buses conveying prospective corps members and passengers traveling from Ibadan to Uyo and Bende, Abia State. The victims were dragged into a nearby forest and held hostage for six days until security agencies secured their release on October 7.
