The mother of one of the prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members recently released by kidnappers says she paid N6 million ransom to secure her son’s freedom.

The prospective corps members were abducted on October 1 after gunmen attacked two 18-seater buses travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway.

The woman, who spoke in an interview with News Central Television on Wednesday, said the kidnappers initially demanded N50 million for each victim before eventually settling for N6 million in her son’s case.

She said the families initially pleaded with the abductors to accept N500,000, but the kidnappers rejected the offer and continued to increase the pressure on them.

“Initially, they asked us to pay N50 million per head. We asked whether the amount was for all of them, but they insisted that no, it was for each person. Later, we started begging them to take N500,000. But they said no and started scaring us,” she said in Yoruba.

According to her, the kidnappers contacted the family three days ago and demanded N15 million, but after further negotiations, they agreed to accept N6 million.

“Three days ago, they called and said we should pay N15 million. We kept begging them that all we had was N5.5 million. They said no and insisted on N6 million. So, it’s that N6 million we paid,” she said.

The woman said the abductors also directed the victims’ families to send representatives to Ibadan to arrange the ransom payment.

She said her husband and her son’s elder brother were among those who went to meet the kidnappers.

“They called all the parents of all the victims. Twenty of them are in the bush. They then asked us to send three persons each to meet with them in Ibadan. My husband and my son’s elder brother went.

“When they got to the meeting place, they asked them to send the money to an account and that when they got to Imo State, they should change the money into dollars.”

She said her elder son later informed the family that the ransom had been delivered and that the abducted NYSC member had been released.

“It was the brother who called us this evening to say that they had handed the ransom to the kidnappers and that they had released our son. We also spoke to the boy,” she said.

The mother said the incident took a heavy toll on her, leaving her unable to sleep throughout the period her son was held captive.

“Since he was kidnapped, I have been stooling. I couldn’t sleep either. But I was relieved when I heard they had been released. It was as though the chains all over me were loosened,” she said.