The police spokesperson in Anambra State, Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.

The police in Anambra State, South-east Nigeria, said they have rescued 15 members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) who were abducted by gunmen in the state.

The police spokesperson in Anambra State, Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.

Mr Ikenga said the corps members had concluded their three weeks orientation programme at the NYSC Orientation camp in Imo State and were en route to Lagos State before their vehicle was intercepted on Tuesday at a junction in Ihiala, a community in Ihiala Local Government Area of the Anambra State.

"Their vehicle was diverted to Isseke-Ihiala-Orlu Expressway where the gunmen kept them hostage," he said.

'How they were rescued'

The spokesperson said police operatives trailed the gunmen in response to receipt of information around 11:15 a.m. about the attack.

"The armed men noticed they were being followed by police operatives, abandoned the corps members and zoomed off with a Toyota Hiace bus with Reg Nos: EPE 353 YE conveying the corps members," Mr Ikenga, a deputy superintendent of police, said.

He said the corps members were "debriefed" by the police operatives, pointing out that "necessary arrangements have been perfected to convey them back to their destinations."

Increased attacks

Like other states in Nigeria's south-east, security has deteriorated in Anambra State with frequent attacks by armed persons.

Although several persons - mainly government officials - have been abducted lately and killed in the state, the abduction of the corps members was a novelty.

The attacks, mostly targeted at security officials and government officials, have been attributed to the outlawed Indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB), which is agitating for a sovereign state for the Igbo-speaking people in the south-east.

But the group has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks.