Gunmen have abducted 20 members of the National Youth Service Corps travelling to various orientation camps in the South-East and South-South states.
The corps members were reportedly travelling in a commercial bus from Ibadan, Oyo State, when the vehicle was intercepted along the Owerri-Onitsha Road by Umunoha community in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State.
The incident, which occurred on Wednesday, has triggered a fresh search operation by security agencies in the state.
Confirming the abduction, the Imo State Police Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye, told Channels Television that the corps members were on their way to their respective orientation camps when they were attacked.
Okoye said the Commissioner of Police in the state, Audu Bosso, had visited the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
He added that the police, alongside other security agencies, had intensified efforts to rescue the victims safely and arrest the perpetrators.
According to him, security operatives were combing the surrounding bushes in search of the abducted corps members, while a Rapid Response Team had also been deployed to track the kidnappers.
The police spokesman said the operation was aimed at securing the safe and unconditional release of the victims.
The latest incident comes weeks after another group of NYSC members was abducted in Kogi State while travelling along the Aloma-Egane Expressway in the Ofu Local Government Area.
PUNCH had reported that armed men emerged from the bush around Ogene Zaria, near the Ogene Zaria/Onicha-Igo Junction, and blocked two buses travelling in opposite directions.
Several passengers were abducted, while others escaped into the surrounding bush.
The Kogi State Police Command later confirmed that 11 victims, including drivers of the two buses, had been rescued, while security operatives continued the search for other victims.
The military subsequently announced the rescue of 21 kidnapped victims, including 15 corps members, from the Egume-Ochaja forest in Kogi State.
The repeated attacks involving corps members travelling between states have renewed concerns over the safety of young Nigerians travelling to fulfil their national service obligations.
For now, the focus of security agencies in Imo remains the safe recovery of the 20 abducted corps members and the apprehension of those behind the attack.
