A group of 20 young people who were abducted in south-east Nigeria last week have been rescued, police have said.
The graduates were kidnapped on October 1 while travelling to participate in a national community service programme in Abia and Akwa Ibom states in the south of the country.
They were rescued by the police with assistance from other security agencies.
Police spokesman Ani Iniedu said in a statement on Wednesday that the group was rescued at Amakohia Ubi in Imo State after a sustained search-and-rescue operation. The graduates are being cared for and have been taken for medical evaluation.
The police, military and other security agencies conducted intelligence-led searches of forests and suspected hideouts, he said. However, he did not disclose whether any ransom had been paid or whether any arrests had been made.
Mr Iniedu said efforts were being made to apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice.
The police had previously said they had identified the location where the group was being held but could not rescue them because the area had been mined with explosives.
The young people were participating in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), a compulsory one-year community service programme for most Nigerian university graduates, under which participants are posted to different parts of the country.
The group were travelling in two buses along a major highway from Ibadan in Oyo State, south-western Nigeria, to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when gunmen attacked the vehicles.
The incident has reignited concerns about insecurity and kidnapping along roads in south-east Nigeria.
Before the graduates were released, the father of one of the abductees, Omotosho Adewale, told the BBC that the kidnappers had demanded a ransom of 50 million naira ($37,680; £28,440), which he could not afford.
“There’s no peace of mind. I’ve not eaten in three days,” he said through tears.
Kidnapping for ransom remains a major security problem in Nigeria, involving criminal gangs and armed groups. The authorities have not released information about the identities of the attackers.
The government has outlawed the payment of ransoms to kidnappers in an attempt to remove the financial incentive for criminal gangs, but the measure has had little effect.
— BBC
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