DSS Arraigns Five Over Alleged Kidnapping of 24 Victims, Including 20 Corps Members

The Department of State Services (DSS) has arraigned five suspects before the Imo State High Court over the alleged abduction of 24 people, including 20 prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), in separate cases involving kidnapping and unlawful possession of firearms.

The defendants face charges including conspiracy, hostage-taking and illegal possession of weapons. The cases were filed at the Imo State High Court, Oru Judicial Division, in Mgbidi, according to details contained in the charge sheets.

Three of the defendants — Usman Aliyu, 25, also known as Chonge; Babangida Aliyu, 21; and Mohammed Ali, 23, popularly called Smallie Pepper — were accused of abducting the prospective corps members on October 1, 2026, Nigeria’s Independence Day.

The prosecution alleged that the suspects and other individuals still at large intercepted the victims along the Owerri-Mgbidi-Onitsha Expressway. The prospective corps members were reportedly travelling from Ibadan to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when they were kidnapped. They were rescued after seven days.

According to the charge sheet, the three defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit hostage-taking under Section 6 of the Imo State Prohibition of Hostage Taking and Related Offences Law No. 4 of 2009. They were also accused of unlawfully possessing three AK-47 rifles, four magazines, a pistol and 81 rounds of live ammunition.

In a separate case, Aminu Haliru, 27, and Tange Ibrahim, 20, also known as Jijji, were arraigned over the alleged abduction of four people around Owerri and Mgbidi on October 4, 2026. The prosecution alleged that the defendants and other suspects who remain at large demanded and collected ₦8 million for the victims’ release.

The two defendants were also accused of unlawfully possessing an AK-47 rifle and a pump-action gun. The prosecution listed ₦1.8 million as money recovered in connection with the second case, while a DSS investigator and the victims were named as witnesses in both proceedings.

The arraignments mark a legal step in the investigation and prosecution of the alleged kidnappings. The allegations against the defendants remain subject to determination by the court, and the prosecution will be required to establish its case through the judicial process.