A deep sigh of relief was heaved Monday by many following the eventual release of the five abducted members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) who were kidnapped over two weeks ago by unknown hoodlums.

The corps members - four females and a male - were all serving at Omademe in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.

It will be the second time corps members will be collectively abducted in the state.

The police in Rivers, Sunday afternoon, rescued the corps members, but did not succeed in nabbing their abductors. But the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba, had earlier told journalists that they (Police) had knowledge of who the kidnappers were.

In announcing the release of the corps members, the police spokesperson in the state, Ben Onwuegbulem, sent a text message yesterday saying the Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier-General Maharazu Tsiga, had received the five rescued corps members - Yusuf Olumide, Mrs Fase Funmilayo, Chinonye Ejiegbu, Nkechi Uwazie and Vivian Ekwanya - who are said to be in good state of health, although journalists did not see them.

The NYSC Director General had earlier relocated to Rivers State to intensify the search for the abducted corps members.

According to the police spokesperson, the NYSC members "were sighted (at about 7:30 p.m.) and rescued by riot policemen conducting stop-and-search at Omerenu along Port Harcourt - Owerri road", adding that the effort to get them freed was a joint one mounted by the police, the State Security Service (SSS) and the military.

After what looked like a decline in the rate of kidnap cases, especially after the killing of Osisi Ka Nkwu, a kidnapping kingpin in Abia State, there appears to be a rebound of the malaise again, following the frequent reported cases of the crime across the country.

The manhunt for the kidnappers however became intense on June 14 when one Mrs. Margret Egwuche, whose husband works with an oil-servicing company in Port Harcourt was abducted from her residence at Timothy Lane, Rumuola in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state.

The police secured her freedom two days after but still failed to nab her abductors.

The police also rescued the mother of Chief Okoroma who was kidnapped on June 17, 2011 at Obrikom in Omoku Local Government Area of the state. No arrests were made in this case also.

Abductors of the five corps members had at the beginning demanded a ransom of N100 million but nine days after slashed their demand to N10 million.

It could not be ascertained as at press time, if any ransom was paid to secure the release of the five corps members.