The father of one of the 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted in Imo State has said the families have received refunds of the ransom money they raised to secure their children’s release, but declined to explain who collected the money or how the refunds were made.

Obasanjo Wahab made the disclosure in an interview with News Central, which published the report on X on Saturday, saying the families wanted to thank the government for helping secure the victims’ freedom.

However, his account raised questions about the circumstances surrounding the reported ransom payment, as he said the families did not know whether the money they raised had actually reached the kidnappers.

News Central quoted Wahab as saying the ransom paid by the families had been refunded, but that he declined to provide details of the payment or refund process, urging Nigerians to commend the government for securing the victims’ release.

During the interview, the father was asked about his earlier account that some representatives of the victims’ families had travelled from Ibadan, Oyo State, to Imo State to pay a ransom for their release.

He said the representatives went to look for the abducted prospective corps members and determine whether they would be released.

When the reporter pointed out that this differed from his earlier account that the kidnappers had asked the families to select representatives, Wahab said the victims were eventually brought to Oyo State after their release.

Asked who received the ransom money raised by the families, he declined to provide a direct answer.

“The issue is that we should just skip over it and beg the government and thank them,” he said.

The reporter pressed him on the money the family had said was returned to the families and asked whether the funds had ever reached the kidnappers.

“We don’t know if it got to them or not,” Wahab replied.

He explained that several people had been selected to represent the families during the negotiations in Imo State. According to him, he had initially been expected to travel but a meeting of the parents decided that one representative would go from his side, while two others would represent the other side.

When asked how many bags containing money the representatives took to Imo State, Wahab declined to provide details, saying, “We left them there.”

He was also asked whether the money was complete when it was taken for the negotiations. He hesitated before saying the representatives were still discussing the matter when the others left because the meeting had lasted a long time.

The reporter subsequently asked his wife who had received the money.

After remaining silent for about five seconds, she asked, “Which money?”

When the reporter clarified that he was referring to the ransom reportedly returned to the families, she said the money had been returned to those who travelled for the negotiations.

“They have returned money to the people who went. All the parents have collected their money,” she said.

Asked whether this meant the families had received refunds of ₦6 million each, Wahab replied, “Yes, all the parents have been paid.”

The couple did not explain who returned the money, how the refunds were funded or whether any ransom was delivered to the kidnappers.

Families Earlier Said They Paid ₦6million Per Victim

SaharaReporters had reported on Thursday that the families of the 20 abducted prospective corps members paid at least ₦120 million in ransom, with one of the victims’ mothers disclosing that her family paid the equivalent of ₦6 million in dollars to secure their son’s release.

The mother said the kidnappers initially demanded ₦50 million for each victim, amounting to ₦1 billion for all 20 prospective corps members.

According to her, the abductors later reduced the amount to ₦6 million per victim after initially rejecting the families’ offer of ₦500,000.

She also said the parents held meetings in Ibadan, agreed on how to raise the money and converted the funds into dollars before sending representatives to Imo State.

“We called a meeting of the parents of the victims in Ibadan. And we agreed to pay the money into our account and convert it to dollars when taking it to Imo. And that was what we did,” she said.

The mother said the brother of her abducted son was among the representatives who travelled to Imo State and confirmed the ransom payment.

The latest account by Wahab, however, raises questions about whether the money collected by the families was ultimately delivered to the kidnappers and the circumstances under which the reported refunds were made.

How The 20 Prospective Corps Members Were Abducted

The 20 prospective corps members were abducted on October 1, 2026, while travelling in two buses from Oyo State to their NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.

Gunmen reportedly intercepted the vehicles along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in the Umunoha area of Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State.

The 20 victims were among 30 passengers travelling in the buses. The remaining 10 reportedly escaped into the bush during the attack.

The abduction triggered panic among the victims’ families after the kidnappers reportedly demanded ₦50 million for each abductee and gave the families 24 hours to raise the money.

The families subsequently sought assistance from traditional and security authorities, including the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, and the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola.

The Imo State Police Command later said security operatives had located the suspected camp where the victims were being held through drone surveillance. However, the police said the rescue operation was delayed by intelligence indicating that improvised explosive devices had been planted in the area.

The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, also deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Nadada, to coordinate the search-and-rescue operation.

The 20 prospective corps members were released on October 7 after spending several days in captivity. They were subsequently taken to a medical facility in Owerri for medical attention before being moved to Ibadan.

On Wednesday, the victims arrived at the Department of State Services headquarters in the Aleshinloye area of Ibadan South-West Local Government Area, where they were received following their release.

As of the time of the earlier reports, authorities had not publicly provided a detailed account of the circumstances surrounding the victims’ release or confirmed whether ransom had been paid.