The Imo State Police Command has located the suspected camp where prospective National Youth Service Corps members abducted in the state are being held, but security operatives have delayed a raid because of fears that the area is planted with improvised explosive devices.
The Commissioner of Police, Audu Garba Bosso, said security personnel tracked the abductors into the bush before deploying drones that pinpointed the location of the suspected camp.
However, Bosso said intelligence indicated that the camp had been mined with IEDs, making it dangerous for security personnel to move in immediately.
He said security agencies were preparing to deploy bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers to facilitate the operation and rescue the victims safely.
The prospective corps members were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when gunmen attacked their buses along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State.
There have been conflicting reports over the number of people abducted and subsequently rescued. Families of the victims said 20 prospective corps members remained in captivity as of Saturday, while earlier police reports indicated that 10 people had been rescued.
Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has deployed senior police officers and additional tactical teams to Imo State to strengthen the search-and-rescue operation.
Police authorities said efforts were ongoing to secure the safe release of the victims and apprehend the abductors.
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