The 20 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members rescued after spending seven days in captivity in Imo State have reunited with their families in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

The freed corps members were handed over to their parents by the Department of State Services (DSS) in Oyo State at about 8:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Their parents reportedly waited for about three hours at the DSS headquarters before the reunion, following a debriefing of the victims by security operatives.

One of the rescued corps members, Akande Morenikeji, described their experience in captivity as physically and emotionally exhausting.

“Ah, it was stressful, too,” she said.

Morenikeji disclosed that the female victims were not chained or subjected to sexual harassment throughout their ordeal, although the male victims faced restrictions.

“We were not chained; the guys, yes, the guys mostly. But as for us, the girls, they did not do any sexual harassment to us. They did not do anything sexual to us,” she said.

The victims were abducted on Thursday, October 1, when gunmen attacked two 18-seater buses conveying them and other passengers along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway in Imo State before taking them into the bush.

A video that circulated widely on X showed that the corps members were travelling to Akwa Ibom and Abia states in buses bearing the Abia State Government logo when the attackers intercepted the vehicles.

Announcing their rescue on Wednesday, the spokesperson for the Nigeria Police Force, Anietie Iniedu, said a joint team of operatives from the DSS, the military and the police carried out the operation.

During the period of captivity, the abductors reportedly contacted the victims’ parents on Saturday and demanded a ransom of ₦1 billion, giving them 24 hours to pay.

The kidnappers subsequently reduced the demand to ₦5 million per victim, amounting to ₦100 million for all 20 corps members.

Following the abduction, the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of operations, Shehu Nadada, to coordinate efforts to secure the victims’ release.

Nadada reportedly arrived in Imo State alongside two commissioners of police to assess the operation and review the deployment of security personnel and operational resources.

The police spokesperson said the deputy inspector-general issued directives to strengthen the joint security response, which eventually led to the rescue of the corps members.