Five suspects face trial over abduction of 20 corps members, others in Imo

The Department of State Services (DSS) has arraigned five suspects before the Imo State High Court over the alleged abduction of 24 people, including 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members.

The defendants face charges of conspiracy, hostage-taking and unlawful possession of firearms in two separate cases.

Usman Aliyu, 25, also known as Chonge; Babangida Aliyu, 21; and Mohammed Ali, 23, also known as Smallie Pepper, were accused of abducting the prospective corps members on Independence Day, October 1, 2026.

According to the charge sheet filed at the High Court, Oru Judicial Division, Mgbidi, the defendants and others still at large allegedly abducted the victims along the Owerri-Mgbidi-Onitsha Expressway.

Read also: 20 kidnapped corps members rescued after 7 days in captivity

The victims were travelling from Ibadan to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when they were kidnapped, and were rescued after seven days.

The DSS, in a statement on Tuesday, said the defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit hostage-taking, an offence punishable under Section 6 of the Imo State Prohibition of Hostage Taking and Related Offences Law No. 4 of 2009.

They were also accused of unlawfully possessing three AK-47 rifles, four magazines, a pistol, and 81 rounds of live ammunition.

In a separate case, Aminu Haliru, 27, and Tange Ibrahim, 20, aka Jijji, were arraigned over the alleged abduction of four persons around Owerri and Mgbidi on October 4.

The prosecution alleged that the two defendants and others still at large collected N8 million for the release of the victims.

Haliru and Ibrahim were accused of unlawfully possessing an AK-47 rifle and a pump-action gun.

The prosecution listed N1.8m as money recovered in the second case, while a DSS investigator and the victims were listed as witnesses in both cases.