Twenty prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and a civilian have been rescued from their abductors in an intelligence-led operation in Imo State.
The victims were rescued through a coordinated operation involving the military, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies.
The rescued victims are currently receiving medical attention at the DSS Hospital in Owerri.
RBN earlier reported that the passengers travelling in two branded commercial buses were abducted last week by gunmen within the Umunoha axis, on the Onitsha-Owerri Expressway in Imo State.
The victims were said to have been forcefully marched into the bush at gunpoint.
The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Henry Okoye, confirmed the incident in a statement issued to journalists in Owerri.
Before their rescue, according to parents of the prospective corps members, the kidnappers had given them 24 hours to raise N1 billion as ransom for their release.
Meanwhile, the Imo State Police Command last Saturday said it located the camp where the prospective corps members abducted in the state were being held.
The Commissioner of Police, Audu Garba Bosso, said security operatives traced the abductors into the bush on last Friday and deployed drones, which helped pinpoint the location of the suspected camp.
However, he said operatives could not move into the area because intelligence indicated that the camp had been planted with improvised explosive devices (IEDs).