Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo has commended security agencies for their prompt intervention in securing the safe release of 20 prospective corps members kidnapped on the Onitsha-Owerri Expressway on October 1.

In a statement he personally issued in Owerri on Wednesday, Mr Uzodimma expressed delight over the “patriotism and inter-agency collaboration that ensured the victims were rescued unharmed”.

“I am particularly grateful to the security agencies for the discreet and collaborative manner in which they tackled the challenge to ensure the captives were saved,” he stated.

He also applauded the joint efforts between the Oyo and Imo state governments, while thanking the parents of the victims “for their patience and fortitude during the trying period”.

The governor urged Nigerians to maintain faith in the federal government and security forces in their current efforts to overcome national security challenges across the country.

The prospective corps members and other travellers were abducted by yet-to-be-identified gunmen around 6:00 a.m. within the Umunoha axis of the busy expressway.

The victims were travelling in two branded commercial buses from Lagos and Ibadan towards Uyo and Bende (Abia), when hoodlums intercepted their vehicles and forcefully marched them into the forest. 

(NAN)