The Imo State Police Command has located the suspected camp where 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted by gunmen are being held, but security operatives have been unable to move into the location after discovering that the hideout was reportedly surrounded by improvised explosive devices.

The victims were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when gunmen attacked two buses in the Umunoha area of Imo State on Thursday.

The State Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso, disclosed this on Saturday, explaining that operatives had successfully tracked the suspected kidnappers into the bush using intelligence and drone surveillance.

According to him, the security team was able to establish the exact coordinates of the hideout but had to suspend its advance because intelligence indicated that the area had been heavily mined with IEDs.

“Yesterday we were in the bush; we trailed them up to a particular location. But at that point in time, we couldn’t move in to where the coordinates showed us where they are,” Bosso said.

He said the drone surveillance provided security operatives with a clear view of the suspected kidnappers’ location, but the presence of explosives had made a direct approach too risky.

“The drone actually showed us exactly their location. But our predicament is that with the intel we have, the IEDs, the camp is mined with IEDs,” the commissioner said.

Bosso, however, assured that security agencies were intensifying efforts to reach the victims safely, revealing that bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers were being deployed to support the operation.

“We are moving with bulldozers and APCs,” he said, stressing that the priority of the operation was to secure the safe and unharmed release of the abducted corps members.

The Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Umar Nadada, who was deployed to Imo State by the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, to coordinate the rescue operation, also assured the victims’ families that all necessary measures were being taken to secure their release.

Nadada appealed to the families to remain calm and cooperate with security agencies as the operation continues.

“Definitely, let them be rest assured that they are going to be rescued safely. They should cooperate with us. I know it’s difficult, particularly for the parents of the victims,” he said.

“I know what they are feeling, but they should work with the security agencies.”

Meanwhile, Bosso confirmed that an investigation into the abduction had commenced but declined to speculate on the identities of the perpetrators, describing them as unknown gunmen.

“The investigation has commenced. We don’t want to pre-empt anything,” he said.

Nadada further disclosed that the Inspector-General of Police had ordered the deployment of additional tactical teams and operational assets to reinforce security personnel already engaged in the rescue operation.

He said the police and other security agencies remained committed to securing the safe release of all 20 victims.

“So definitely we are working hard to ensure that all those victims are rescued,” Nadada said.