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.

No fewer than 29 people have died after allegedly consuming a suspected contaminated alcoholic beverage in Araromi-Obu and other communities in the Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State.

The Ondo State Commissioner for Health, Dr Banji Awolowo-Ajaka, disclosed this on Friday while briefing journalists in Akure.

Awolowo-Ajaka said 60 cases had so far been recorded, with three victims currently receiving treatment in hospitals and 27 others under medical observation.

He said 95 per cent of those affected were males aged between 16 and 55 years.

According to him, the affected communities include Orita Odigbo, Araromi-Obu, Newtown, Odole, Okele and Oniparaga.

The commissioner said the victims exhibited symptoms including headache, body pain, general weakness, visual disturbance, difficulty breathing and altered consciousness.

He added that some of the victims deteriorated rapidly, leading to death within a few hours.

Awolowo-Ajaka said the pattern of illness and the reported history of exposure had raised strong epidemiological suspicion that the victims were exposed to a toxic alcoholic substance.

He, however, stressed that the exact cause of the deaths had not been established through laboratory testing.

“The pattern of illness and reported history of exposure have raised strong epidemiological suspicion of exposure to a probable toxic alcoholic substance. However, we are yet to have laboratory evidence of the cause of the deaths,” he said.

The commissioner disclosed that 36 blood and urine samples had been collected from victims for laboratory analysis, while samples of the suspected alcoholic substances had also been submitted for toxicological investigation.

He said the investigation was being conducted in collaboration with relevant regulatory and security agencies.

As part of measures to contain the situation, the state government has imposed a temporary ban on the production and sale of locally brewed alcoholic herbal beverages in the affected local government area.

Awolowo-Ajaka added that several suspects found selling the substance had been taken into custody.

He urged residents to avoid alcoholic products from unlicensed sources and seek immediate medical attention if they experience blurred vision, difficulty breathing, sudden weakness, confusion or loss of consciousness after consuming alcohol.

The commissioner advised residents to take anyone exhibiting such symptoms to the General Hospital, Ore, or the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital, Ondo, without delay.

He assured the public that the state government was working with national and international partners to identify the exact cause of the deaths and prevent further loss of life.

A 25-year-old woman has allegedly been hacked to death by her husband, a butcher, during a domestic dispute in the Dalimore area of Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.

The incident reportedly occurred on Wednesday when the couple went to the residence of a friend of the deceased’s father, who had offered to mediate in their unresolved marital dispute.

According to sources, the situation, which was initially intended to settle the couple’s differences, turned violent after an argument reportedly broke out between the husband and his wife.

The butcher was alleged to have attacked his wife repeatedly with a machete, leaving her with severe injuries.

She reportedly died from the injuries sustained during the attack.

The suspect was said to have fled the scene immediately after the incident, while the victim’s remains were reportedly taken away.

Speaking on the incident, a cousin of the deceased, identified as Yusuf, alleged that the woman had been planning to leave the marriage after becoming suspicious that some of her clothes and underwear were disappearing from the house.

Yusuf said the deceased had planned to travel to her sister’s residence on Thursday, September 10, as part of her plan to leave the marriage, but told her husband that she was going to her sister’s place for work.

He alleged that while she was preparing to leave Ado-Ekiti, the wife of her father’s friend invited her to the residence, informing her that her husband wanted to see her.

According to him, the woman went to the residence on Wednesday morning, unaware that her husband would also be there.

Yusuf said an attempt to resolve the couple’s differences subsequently degenerated into a physical confrontation, during which the suspect allegedly attacked the deceased with a machete.

He added that some people had been taken into police custody in connection with the incident, while the whereabouts of the suspect remained unknown.

Yusuf also alleged that the suspect fled with the deceased’s mobile phone, which the family believed could contain information that might assist the police in their investigation.

“We want him to be found and arrested. We want justice for our daughter. Her parents are in pain, and my family is in serious agony. She didn’t deserve this,” he said.

As of the time of filing this report, the Ekiti State Police Command had yet to confirm the incident.

The circumstances surrounding the woman’s death and the whereabouts of the suspect could not be independently verified.