JUST IN: DSS ARRAIGNS FIVE OVER KIDNAP OF CORPS MEMBERS, ALLEGED ₦8M RANSOM

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By ‘Balogun Ibrahim

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

The defendants are facing charges bordering on conspiracy, hostage-taking and unlawful possession of firearms in two separate cases.

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

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According to the charge sheet filed before the Imo State High Court, Oru Judicial Division, Mgbidi, the defendants allegedly carried out the abduction alongside other suspects who are still at large along the Owerri-Mgbidi-Onitsha Expressway.

The prospective corps members were reportedly travelling from Ibadan to their NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when they were kidnapped. They were rescued after spending seven days in captivity.

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 illegally possessing three AK-47 rifles, four magazines, a pistol and 81 rounds of live ammunition.

The DSS disclosed the arraignment in a statement issued on Tuesday, stating that the three defendants were specifically charged in connection with the abduction of the prospective corps members.

In a separate case, two other suspects, Aminu Haliru, 27, and Tange Ibrahim, 20, also known as Jijji, were arraigned over the alleged kidnapping of four people in the Owerri and Mgbidi areas on October 4, 2026.

The prosecution alleged that the defendants, alongside other suspects still at large, demanded and collected ₦8 million as ransom for the victims’ release.

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

The prosecution listed ₦1.8 million as money recovered in connection with the second case.

A DSS investigator and the victims were listed as witnesses in both cases.