Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has criticised President Bola Tinubu over the abduction of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in Imo State.

Atiku, in a statement on Monday, said Nigerians continued to face security threats despite the savings accruing to the Federal Government from the removal of the petrol subsidy.

He urged security agencies to intensify efforts to rescue the abducted NYSC members, describing the incident as disturbing, particularly against the backdrop of the continued captivity of 70 pupils and students abducted from the Mussa and Lassa areas of Borno State between May and June.

“Tinubu promised that savings from subsidy removal would help fund security. Yet Nigerians remain exposed to kidnappers on our roads, in our communities and around our schools,” Atiku said.

“Young people face danger in secondary school, struggle with unaffordable fees at university, and are now targets on their journeys to NYSC camps. This is a generation being failed at every stage.”

The former vice-president also criticised the government over the award of pipeline security contracts to companies he described as politically connected, while ordinary Nigerians continued to contend with criminal attacks.

“The first duty of government is to protect lives,” he said.

Atiku called for the immediate and safe rescue of the abducted youths and all other Nigerians still in captivity, adding that his commitment to building a safer and more affordable Nigeria remained firm.

The incident occurred on October 1 when gunmen reportedly waylaid two buses conveying NYSC members and other passengers at Umunoha, along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway in Imo State.

The Imo State Police Command said 10 people were rescued and the two buses recovered at the scene, while 20 others remained in captivity.

Families of the abducted victims later raised concerns over the ransom demanded by the kidnappers. Initial reports indicated a demand of N50 million for each victim, amounting to N1 billion.

Alhaja Akande and Oyebola Akande, who spoke on behalf of the affected families, said the abductors had been contacting relatives through the mobile phones of some of the abducted prospective corps members.

The families subsequently disclosed that the kidnappers had given them 24 hours to raise the N1 billion ransom.

However, the ransom demand was later reportedly reduced to N5 million per victim, bringing the total amount demanded for the 20 abductees to N100 million.