Why we can’t strike despite locating kidnapped NYSC members – Police

The police in Imo State say they have identified the location where about 19 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC ) members abducted in the state are being held.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Audu Bosso, disclosed this while speaking with reporters on Saturday.

A video clip, which showed the police chief making the remarks, has been circulating on social media.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that gunmen abducted the prospective NYSC members at about 6:30 a.m. on Thursday along the Owerri-Onitsha Road by Umunoha in Imo State.

The prospective NYSC members were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.

The police later said 10 victims were rescued at the scene following the intervention of the police and other security agencies, while the exact number of people still in captivity was being verified.

Identified location

While speaking with the reporters, Mr Bosso said the police used drones on Friday to locate the suspected camp after security operatives trailed the abductors into the bush.

The commissioner, however, said the security agencies were being cautious because intelligence indicated that the camp had been mined with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

READ ALSO: Police raise alarm over planned attacks on worship centres, schools, NYSC camps

“Any moment, we will still move into the bush. Yesterday (Friday) we were in the bush; we trailed them up to a particular location.

“But at that point in time, we couldn’t move into where the coordinates showed us where they (abductors) are, because we ran drones yesterday. And the drone actually showed us exactly their location.

“But our predicament is that with the intel we have, the camp is mined with IEDs,” he said.

The police chief said security operatives were preparing to move into the area with heavy equipment, such as bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers (APC), in an effort to rescue the victims unhurt.

“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 stated.