The Imo State Police Command has located the forest camp where 19 prospective NYSC members abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha Road are believed to be held.
However, security forces have delayed the rescue operation over fears of improvised explosive devices.
The Commissioner of Police, Audu Garba Bosso, disclosed this on Saturday while giving an update on the search for the abducted corps members.
Bosso said security operatives tracked the suspected kidnappers into the bush before deploying drones that provided the coordinates of the camp.
He, however, said the operation could not proceed immediately because intelligence indicated that the area had been mined with IEDs.
The police commissioner said security agencies were preparing to enter the location with specialised equipment, including bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers.
He said the aim was to clear the route and enable the rescue team to reach the victims safely.
The abduction occurred on Thursday along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in the Umunoha area of Imo State.
The victims were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom when gunmen attacked the two buses conveying them.
The Managing Director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited, Isiah Akpan, said the attackers took 19 prospective corps members into the bush after the drivers escaped and alerted security personnel.
The abductors have reportedly demanded N50m for each victim, putting the total ransom demand at N950m.
The development has heightened anxiety among the victims’ families as security agencies intensify efforts to secure their release.
Meanwhile, Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu has deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Operations, DIG Shehu Nadada, to Imo State to coordinate the rescue operation.
Nadada arrived with two Commissioners of Police and reviewed the deployment of personnel, operational strategies and available security assets.
The police said additional tactical teams and operational resources had also been deployed to support intelligence-led tracking and the search-and-rescue operation.
