The Department of State Services (DSS) has arraigned five suspects allegedly linked to the abduction of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and a civilian along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway in Imo State.
The suspects were brought before the Justice Oputa State High Court in Owerri the state capital following their arrest during intelligence-led operations in Rivers and Abia states.
The victims were abducted by gunmen near Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area on October 1 2026 while travelling from Ibadan Oyo State to their assigned NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.
The abduction sparked a security operation to locate the victims and apprehend those responsible.
On October 7 the 20 prospective corps members and the civilian were rescued from the Amakohia-Ubi forest in Owerri West Local Government Area. They subsequently received medical attention at the DSS hospital in Owerri.
The DSS later arrested five suspects in intelligence-led operations conducted between October 10 and 14 in Port Harcourt Rivers State and Aba Abia State.
The operations involved a joint security team led by the DSS working with the military police and other security operatives.
Three other suspects reportedly escaped with gunshot wounds prompting a manhunt for them and other fleeing members of the suspected kidnapping syndicate.