The Department of State Services (DSS) has arraigned five suspects before the Imo State High Court over the alleged kidnapping of 24 people, including 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members.
According to The PUNCH, the suspects appeared before the court on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, in two separate cases involving conspiracy, hostage-taking and unlawful possession of firearms.
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.
DSS charges three over NYSC members’ abduction
According to the charge sheet filed at the Imo State High Court, Oru Judicial Division, Mgbidi, the suspects allegedly kidnapped the graduates along the Owerri-Mgbidi-Onitsha Expressway.
The victims were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their respective NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when they were intercepted.
They were rescued seven days after the abduction.
Confirming the charges in a statement issued on Tuesday, the DSS said:
“Three of them, Usman Aliyu, twenty-five, also known as Chonge; 21-year-old Babangida Aliyu, and 23-year-old Mohammed Ali aka Smallie Pepper, are specifically charged with the kidnapping of the prospective corps members.”
The 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.
The security agency also disclosed that firearms and ammunition were allegedly found in the suspects’ possession.
“The defendants were accused of unlawfully possessing three AK-47 rifles, four magazines, a pistol and eighty-one rounds of live ammunition,” the DSS stated.
Two suspects arraigned over N8m kidnapping case
In a separate case, the DSS arraigned Aminu Haliru, 27, and Tange Ibrahim, 20, also known as Jijji, over the alleged abduction of four people around Owerri and Mgbidi on October 4.
The prosecution alleged that the defendants, alongside other suspects still at large, collected N8 million to secure the victims’ release.
The two were also accused of unlawfully possessing an AK-47 rifle and a pump-action gun.
According to the prosecution, N1.8 million was recovered during the investigation into the second kidnapping case.
DSS lists victims as prosecution witnesses
The prosecution identified a DSS investigator and the victims as witnesses in both cases.
The charges form part of ongoing efforts to prosecute suspects allegedly involved in kidnapping and other violent crimes in Imo State.
Other individuals believed to have participated in the abductions remain at large.
The five defendants are facing criminal charges, but their alleged involvement has not been established by a court.
