Twenty graduates kidnapped while travelling to a national service programme have been freed, Nigerian police said Wednesday.
The group was recovered in Amakohia Ubi, Imo State, following an extended operation involving police and other security agencies, police spokesman Ani Iniedu said.
They are currently receiving care and undergoing medical checks.
The graduates were seized on 1 October while travelling in two buses from Ibadan, in Oyo State, to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom.
They were taking part in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), a compulsory, year-long service scheme for most Nigerian university graduates.
Iniedu said security teams searched forests and suspected hideouts using intelligence.
He did not confirm whether a ransom was paid or anyone had been arrested, but said efforts to identify and capture those responsible were continuing.
Police had earlier said they knew where the captives were held but could not move in because the site was reportedly rigged with explosives.
Before the rescue, Omotosho Adewale, whose son was among those taken, told the BBC that the abductors demanded 50 million naira ($37,680; £28,440).
He said he could not pay and had gone three days without eating.
The incident has renewed alarm over abductions on roads in south-east Nigeria.
Kidnapping for ransom remains a serious national problem, involving criminal gangs and armed groups. Authorities have not identified the attackers.
Nigeria has made ransom payments illegal in an effort to weaken the business model, but the measure has done little to stop the crime.
By: Magdalene Agyeiwaa Sarpong