OWERRI, IMO STATE — Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have arraigned five suspects before the Justice Oputa State High Court in Owerri over their alleged involvement in the October 1 abduction of 20 prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and four other travelers in Imo State.
The suspects, identified as Ibrahim Jiji, Aminu Haliru, Mohammed Ali (alias “Smallie Pepper”), Usman Aliyu (alias “Chonge”), and Babangida Aliyu, were brought before the court on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, to face multi-count charges including conspiracy, hostage-taking, kidnapping, and illegal possession of firearms.
Court Proceedings and Specific Charges
According to court filings, the prosecution presented two separate cases against the defendants. In the primary suit, Usman Aliyu, Babangida Aliyu, and Mohammed Ali were charged alongside accomplice suspects currently at large for the abduction of 20 prospective corps members along the Owerri–Mgbidi–Onitsha Expressway near Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area.
State legal counsels prosecuting the case on behalf of the DSS cited offences punishable under Section 6 of the Imo State Prohibition of Hostage Taking and Related Offences Law No. 4 of 2009.
Background on the October 1 Attack and Rescue
The 20 prospective corps members were intercepted on Nigeria’s Independence Day, October 1, 2026, at approximately 6:30 a.m. while traveling in two 18-seater commercial buses from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their designated orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.
Following seven days in captivity inside the Amakohia-Ubi forest in Imo State, the victims were rescued on October 7 during a joint tactical operation executed by operatives of the DSS, the Nigerian Military, and the Nigeria Police Force.
The subsequent arrests of the five suspects took place during intelligence-led joint security raids conducted between October 10 and 14 across criminal hideouts in Rivers and Abia states.
The presiding judge ordered the remand of all five defendants in custody pending further legal submissions and trial schedules.
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