The Department of State Services (DSS) has told an Imo State High Court sitting in Owerri that 11 suspects were involved in the abduction of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members along the Mgbidi-Owerri Road on October 1 2026.
A DSS investigation officer Ikemefuna Emmanuel disclosed this on Thursday while testifying before Justice Emeka Orafu.
Emmanuel said three suspects Mohammed Ali Usman Aliyu and Babandiga Aliyu had been arraigned over the incident while eight other alleged members of the gang remained at large.
He told the court that the prospective corps members were travelling in two buses operated by the Akwa Ibom Transport Company to their orientation camps in Akwa Ibom and Abia states when they were attacked at about 6.30 am.
According to the investigator the buses departed Ibadan on September 30 stopped at Ubaa in Anambra State and resumed their journey in the early hours of October 1.
He said armed men wielding AK-47 rifles allegedly intercepted the vehicles seized the passengers and took them into the bush.
Emmanuel said security agencies including the DSS police and military deployed personnel technical resources and intelligence-gathering measures to secure the victims’ release.
He added that investigations continued after the victims were released about a week later following ransom payments.
The DSS officer said the investigation involved intelligence gathering interviews and statements obtained under caution from suspects victims witnesses and bus drivers as well as the analysis of mobile phone data.
He told the court that the three defendants were arrested between October 10 and 14 in Rivers and Abia states where some suspects and alleged collaborators had reportedly fled.
Emmanuel further said the victims identified the defendants during an identification parade.
He also told the court that a motorcycle operator identified as Timothy identified Usman Aliyu and Babangida Aliyu as persons allegedly present and armed with AK-47 rifles during a ransom exchange.
A bus driver Sunday Odoh reportedly identified Usman Aliyu as the man who approached his bus with a rifle during the attack.
The investigator said the drivers escaped abduction by abandoning the vehicles and taking cover.
He named Esther Olaide Mary Makinde and Abdul Simi Sarah as three victims who identified the suspects. According to him they also provided descriptions of other alleged gang members still at large including a suspect identified as Mohammed Ali also known as Small Pepper.
The testimony forms part of the proceedings against the three defendants over the alleged abduction of the prospective corps members.
Emmanuel added that Usman Aliyu admitted participating in the kidnapping in a confessional statement while the defendants’ statements reportedly indicated that 11 people took part in the operation. He said the statements were obtained under caution in the presence of legal counsel and senior DSS officers.
In a separate case suit number HOW/23C/2026 Emmanuel testified that Tange Ibrahim alias Jiji and Usman Haliru were arrested in Port Harcourt Rivers State on October 9 over the alleged kidnapping of Winner Ogidi Timothy Opara Ogechi Henriett Obinna and another person. He said the victims were abducted on October 4 along Umuwaka Road in Mbaitoli Local Government Area held in Ndegwu Forest and released on October 9.
Justice Orafu adjourned the cases to October 27 2026 for further hearing.