Security agencies in Imo State have located the suspected hideout where 19 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha Road are believed to be held, but an immediate rescue operation has been put on hold over fears that the kidnappers have planted improvised explosive devices (IEDs) around the camp.
The Commissioner of Police in Imo State, CP Audu Garba Bosso, disclosed this on Saturday, October 3, 2026, while providing an update on efforts to rescue the victims and apprehend their abductors.
According to Bosso, security operatives succeeded in tracking the kidnappers into the bush and used drones to pinpoint the location of their suspected camp on Friday.
He explained that although the aerial surveillance provided security forces with the coordinates of the location, operatives could not immediately enter the area because intelligence reports indicated that the camp had been heavily mined with explosives.
The commissioner said the security agencies were therefore adopting a cautious approach to avoid putting the lives of the abducted persons and the rescue team at unnecessary risk.
Bosso said operatives remained determined to enter the bush and rescue the victims, adding that the operation would be conducted with equipment capable of navigating the difficult terrain and mitigating the suspected explosive threat.
He said the security agencies were preparing to deploy bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers as part of the operation.
The commissioner explained that the decision to use heavy equipment was aimed at creating a safer route into the area while enabling the security forces to approach the suspected camp without exposing the victims or personnel to avoidable danger.
Bosso said: “Any moment, we’ll still move into the bush. Yesterday, 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 they were because we ran drones yesterday. And the drone actually showed us their exact location. But our predicament is that with the intel we have, the IED is—the camp is mined with IEDs.”
He further disclosed that the security agencies would move into the area with heavy operational equipment in an attempt to secure the safe release of the victims.
“We are moving in there with high, you know, 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,” the police commissioner added.
The development followed the abduction of prospective corps members who were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.
The victims were reportedly travelling in two buses when armed men intercepted them along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in the Umunoha area of Imo State on Thursday.
Since the incident, security agencies have intensified efforts to trace the abductors, locate their victims and secure their safe release.
The identification of the suspected camp marks a significant development in the ongoing operation, although the reported presence of IEDs has introduced an additional security challenge for the rescue teams.
Security personnel are expected to proceed with heightened caution as they work to gain access to the location and rescue the abducted prospective corps members without casualties.
