Fulani Militia Torture 15 Kidnapped Nigerian Graduates as Ransom Deadline Expires

The abducted university graduates—traveling for Nigeria’s mandatory national service—are being beaten as kidnappers slash ransom demands and police warn the militants’ camp is rigged with explosives.

By Ebere Inyama

15 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) kidnapped by suspected Fulani Ethnic Militia in Imo state on 1 October, 2026, are reportedly being tortured by their abductors as the deadline given for payment of ransom comes to an end.

The kidnappers had earlier ordered the families of each of the victims to pay a ransom of ₦50 million (about $37,000) before the end of Sunday, 3 October, 2026 but later slashed the ransom demand to ₦5 million ($3,700) per victim.

Alhaja Alimot Akande, whose 25-year-old sister, Kehinde Akande, is among the abducted graduates, said the victims had been beaten since Saturday and appealed to the government to intensify efforts to secure the victims’ release.

“When I spoke to my sister, they started beating them yesterday,” she said.

 “They are not sparing anybody. They are beating all of them but the police are telling us to still be buying time. We are still looking for the money.” she added.

Background 

The prospective corps members, mostly graduates of the University of Ibadan (UI) and Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, were travelling on buses operated by Udua King Transport Services from Ibadan, Oyo State, to an orientation camp in Abia State, when they were attacked by the kidnappers.

TruthNigeria’s investigation reveals that four passenger buses had been commissioned by the transport company to convey the prospective corps members to the NYSC permanent orientation camp in Abia State.

The buses took off from Udua King Transport Services bus terminal at Bodija/Samonda park in Ibadan, Oyo state on the morning of Wednesday, 30 September, 2026 but were delayed by heavy traffic at Benin City, Edo State.

The vehicles eventually arrived in Onitsha, Anambra State, at about 10 pm same day (Wednesday) but could not proceed with the journey because of the bad condition of the road and the security risks associated with night travels, according to the Managing Director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited, Isiah Akpan. Consequently, they were compelled to spend the night in Oba, Anambra State, before resuming their journey at about 5 am on Thursday 1 October, 2026.

The Ambush

After spending the night in Oba, a small town near Onitsha in Anambra state, the travelers resumed their journey the next morning but were attacked by the gunmen at Ihiala, a small town located near the boundary between Anambra and Imo state.

Two of the buses reportedly escaped the ambush while the other two were intercepted by the gunmen. During the attack, 11 passengers and the drivers of the two affected buses managed to escape, while 15 passengers were abducted.

An eye witness who recorded a video of the incident said Fulani herdsmen blocked the federal highway along Onitsha – Owerri road, kidnapped passengers traveling in two buses and marched them into the nearby bush. 

A community leader in Umunoha, Chief Charles Obialor, told the Nigerian Tribune that some residents of the Community had abandoned their farmlands because of fear of attacks by suspected armed herders and this has made it possible for the farmlands to turn into forests, making it easier for criminals to operate.

 “For two years, we have abandoned our farmlands because of fear of being killed by the Fulani herdsmen”, said Obialor. 

“The place where I suspect they are keeping the victims is Alasieke Forest”, added Obialor, referring to the abducted NYSC members. 

A source from the Umunoha community who spoke to TruthNigeria attributed the attack to traffic congestion caused by cattle crossing the expressway, which forced vehicles to slow down.

“The tactic often used by the armed herdsmen is to launch attacks on travelers when their cattle are crossing the road,” the source said.

“ And the moment a vehicle slows down to allow the cattle to cross the road, these bandits will emerge from the nearby bush and point their guns at the drivers of the vehicles”, the source added.

Police Rescue Operation

Following distressed calls made by the officials of the transport company, security operatives deployed drones with which they located the hideout of the kidnappers but were unable to move into the area because the hideout is surrounded by improvised explosive devices (IEDs), according to the Imo state Commissioner of Police, Audu Garba Bosso.

 “We trailed them up to a particular location. But at that point in time, we couldn’t move in to where the coordinates showed us,” said Bosso in a statement.

 “Our predicament is that with the intel we have, the camp is mined with IEDs,” Bosso continued.

 “We are moving in there with high-velocity vehicles, bulldozers and APCs to see how we are going to rescue these victims,” Bosso added.

Nigeria’s Booming Kidnapping Industry

Terror groups and criminal gangs in Nigeria abducted at least 7,825 people, killed at least 1,142 people, including 895 civilians and received $5.8 million in ransom between July 2025 and June 2026 according to a report by SBM Intelligence.

In the same vein, a security expert and Vice-Chancellor, Achievers University, Ondo State, Prof. Oyesoji Aremu, recently disclosed that Nigeria is grappling with alarming levels of insecurity, with about 2.2 million kidnapping incidents recorded in a single year and ransom payments estimated at ₦2.2 trillion (about $1.5 billion).

Research on terrorism financing in Nigeria runs on a simple business model — getting hostages, torturing them and putting pressure on families and the government to pay a ransom for their release, according to a report by IMPAKTER.

A single successful operation can generate enough revenue to purchase weapons, recruit fighters, and finance future attacks, the report added.

Ebere Inyama reports on conflict and religious freedom for TruthNigeria

Related