The Department of State Services (DSS), on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, arraigned three persons accused of the Independence day kidnapping of 20 prospective Youth Corp members in Imo State.
Also arraigned were two other persons accused of kidnapping four persons in the state, four days after the Independence Day abduction.
The five suspects are facing charges of conspiracy, hostage-taking and unlawful possession of firearms before a State High Court of Imo State.
Three of them namely, Usman Aliyu (25 years) also known as Chonge; Babangida Aliyu 21-year-old, and Mohammed Ali (23-year-old) aka Smallie Pepper, are specifically charged with the kidnap of the prospective 20 corps’ members.
The defendants were charged with conspiracy to hostage taking punishable under Section 6 of the Imo State Prohibition of Hostage Taking and Related Offences Law No. 4 of 2009.
The DSS prosecutors accused the trioka and others still at large of abducting the victims along the Owerri–Mgbidi–Onitsha Expressway on Independence day.
They were travelling from Ibadan to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.
The prospective Corps members were rescued after seven days.
The charge sheet filed at the Imo State High Court, Oru Judicial Division, Mgbidi, stated that the defendants were unlawfully in possession of three AK-47 rifles, four magazines, a pistol and 81 rounds of live ammunition.
In a related development, 27-year-old Aminu Haliru and 20-year-old Tange Ibrahim aka Jijji, were also accused of abducting four people around Owerri and Mgbidi on October 4, 2026
The prosecutors allege that Haliru, Ibrahim and others still at large collected eight million naira to release the four victims.
The defendants are also facing a charge of unlawful possession of one AK-47 rifle and a pump-action gun.
The prosecution stated that N1.8 million was recovered in the second case, while a DSS investigator and the victims are listed as witnesses in both cases.
