Two 18-seater buses conveying prospective National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, members from Ibadan to Akwa Ibom and Abia states were reportedly hijacked by suspected terrorists along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway in Imo State.

The incident occurred at the Umunoha axis of Mbaitoli Local Government Area in the early hours of Thursday.

According to reports, the buses were carrying prospective corps members travelling to their various states of deployment when the attackers intercepted them and marched passengers into the bush before security personnel arrived at the scene.

A source said about 19 passengers who boarded the buses in Ibadan were reportedly abducted, while some passengers and drivers managed to escape.

The mother of one of the victims, Mrs Alimotu Akanke, said her son, Akande Farouq, was travelling to Abia State for the NYSC programme.

According to her, the buses departed Samonda in Ibadan around 10 a.m. on Wednesday and stopped after Onitsha to rest before continuing their journey around 4:30 a.m.

She said the family was tracking the journey when they received a brief message from one of the passengers reading, “Kidnappers!”

She said communication with the passengers was lost immediately afterwards.

Akanke added that another passenger, who was travelling to Enugu, was making a video when the incident occurred, while images of the vehicle and belongings of the passengers were also seen.

She appealed to the Federal Government, security agencies and NYSC management to intensify efforts to secure the release of the abducted passengers.

The corps members had departed Ibadan on Wednesday morning and were travelling to their respective states of deployment when the incident occurred.