At least 40 prospective and serving corps members were abducted in five reported incidents during journeys to or from National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation camps in 2026.
In January, Binuyo Lateefah, a graduate of Kwara State Polytechnic, was abducted in Kogi State while travelling to her NYSC orientation camp in Taraba State. Her abductors demanded N30m in ransom.
On August 26, gunmen abducted 16 corps members returning from their orientation camp in Bayelsa State along the Aloma–Egane Expressway in Kogi State. On October 1, another 20 prospective corps members travelling from Ibadan to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states were abducted when gunmen attacked their buses near Umunoha, along the Owerri–Onitsha Road in Imo State. Both groups were eventually rescued.
Three other prospective corps members were abducted in separate incidents.
In April, Gift Samiya David, a graduate of the University of Maiduguri, was abducted along the Akwanga–Jos Highway while travelling to the NYSC orientation camp in Maiduguri, Borno State. Ogunlana Adetola Sodiq, a graduate of Lagos State University (LASU), was reportedly shot in the leg and abducted while travelling to his orientation camp in Ede, Osun State. His abductors demanded N20m
NYSC postings routinely require graduates to travel outside their states of origin. A graduate posted to the North East from the South West, for instance, may cross several states before reaching their assigned orientation camp. Others travel through unfamiliar areas, relying largely on commercial transport and information available to them before departure.
NYSC determines where graduates report and when they must arrive, while families generally make the transport arrangements.
What NYSC Says
The scheme occasionally advises prospective corps members to travel during daylight, use registered transport operators and approved motor parks, share their locations and avoid continuing journeys when it gets late. The October attack in Imo, however, exposes the limits of such precautions. The attack occurred at about 6:30 a.m. after the travellers reportedly broke their journey to avoid night travel and resumed their trip that morning.
The NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, told the News Agency of Nigeria in April that the scheme was working with the police, military and intelligence agencies on corps members’ security. He said security agencies were notified ahead of orientation programmes, camps were reinforced and that corps members in some locations received escorts along designated routes.
In 2025, the scheme relocated camps in Kwara and Kebbi states over security concerns. In May, Nafiu also advised parents to provide enough transport money for prospective corps members to break long journeys and stop overnight where necessary.
The advice recognises the risks of long-distance travel but places much of the cost of precautions on families. The Imo incident also proved that travelling during the day does not guarantee protection from attacks or kidnappers.
The DG did not identify the routes covered by the escort arrangements or explain how corps members travelling to camps are included in the coordination with security agencies. Public statements by the scheme have also not established whether it collects travel details from prospective corps members or monitors routes where abductions have been reported.
NYSC’s advice to use registered operators also does not, by itself, suggest the scheme has a system for coordinating with commercial transport companies during mobilisation.
In the August Kogi incident, police said gunmen emerged from the bush near Ogene Zaria and blocked 2 buses travelling in opposite directions. The account did not include information about the security escorts or presence along the route at the time.
The rescue operation Imo took 6 days. The 20 prospective corps members were recovered on October 7 in an operation involving the police, military and Department of State Services (DSS). Police said drones had located the kidnappers’ camp, but officers could not advance because the site was planted with improvised explosive devices.
Imo State Commissioner of Police Audu Bosso said he was unaware of any ransom payment, although earlier reports cited demands of up to N50m per victim. On October 16, police announced the arrest of 5 suspects and said 3 others had escaped with gunshot wounds.
Other abductions involving serving corps members show that the challenge extends beyond journeys to and from orientation camps.
On January 9, 2025, Abasifreke Joseph was abducted around Enugu-Ezike in Enugu State. On February 25, 2025, Rofiat Lawal was abducted along the Benin–Ore route in Edo State and was subsequently reportedly freed after a ransom payment of N1.1m.
Eunice Ameh, another serving corps member, was abducted in Maitama, Abuja, on May 6, 2026. She was later reported to have regained her freedom.
For a scheme that determines how graduates are deployed across the country, the security arrangements surrounding mobilisation should extend beyond the orientation camp.
The NYSC Public Relations Officer, Mrs Caroline Embu, did not respond to calls or messages seeking comments on the security arrangements for corps members travelling to and from orientation camps as of the time of filing this report.
(The Whistler)