Parents of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, members abducted while travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State to the NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom States have appealed to the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, to intervene in efforts to secure the release of their children.
The parents, who converged on the Olubadan’s Private Residence in Bodija, Ibadan, urged the Monarch to use his good office and personal connections towards securing the freedom of the abducted graduates.
Alhaja Halima Akande and Mr Oyebola Akande, who spoke on behalf of the affected parents, described the ordeal of their children in captivity as deeply distressing, saying the experience they had endured over the past two days was better imagined than told.
The parents appealed to Oba Ladoja to urgently wade into the matter and support ongoing efforts by the government and security agencies to secure the safe release of the victims.
Receiving the delegation, Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja assured the worried parents that the matter was receiving the attention of the government and that efforts were being made to secure the release of the abductees.
The Olubadan, who was accompanied by the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Mr Olugbenga Abimbola, and the Aseyin of Iseyin, Oba Sefiu Oyebola, told the parents that government was deeply concerned about the development.
Commenting, the Commissioner of Police, Oyo State Command, Mr Olugbenga Abimbola, assured the parents and the general public that security agencies and the government were on top of the situation.
It would be recalled that Nigeria Police, Imo State Command confirmed that the attack occurred on Thursday at about half past six in the morning on the Owerri-Onitsha Road near Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of the State.