NYSC Abductions: APM Raises Fresh Alarm, Demands Urgent Federal Action
The abduction of prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members travelling to orientation camps has triggered fresh concern over the safety of young Nigerians, with the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) urging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to take urgent steps to address the security challenge.
The call followed the abduction of prospective corps members and other passengers along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Imo State while travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to orientation camps in the South-East and South-South.
The Imo State Police Command confirmed that two buses carrying the prospective corps members came under attack near Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area. The police said 10 victims were rescued during the initial security response, while efforts continued to establish the exact number of persons still in captivity.
However, reports from families of the affected passengers have raised further concerns, with parents insisting that about 20 prospective corps members remained in captivity and alleging that kidnappers had demanded huge ransom payments for their release. The conflicting accounts have added pressure on security agencies to establish the full facts and secure the safe return of those still missing.
Against this backdrop, the APM, through the Makinde-Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation, questioned what it described as the Federal Government’s response to the development and urged the President to demonstrate stronger leadership in protecting young Nigerians participating in the national service programme.
The development has also reignited debate about the security arrangements surrounding the NYSC scheme, particularly the requirement for young graduates to travel across state boundaries to designated orientation camps and places of primary assignment.
Beyond the immediate rescue operation, the latest incident has raised broader questions about whether prospective corps members should receive safer transportation arrangements, improved intelligence support and stronger security coverage when travelling to orientation camps in areas considered vulnerable to kidnapping.
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has similarly called for intensified rescue efforts and a review of the security framework surrounding NYSC mobilisation. It also advocated risk-sensitive deployment, secured transportation and consideration of state-based or zonal service arrangements where security conditions demand it.
For families whose children are among those missing, however, the priority remains immediate and straightforward: safe recovery. Parents of some of the affected graduates have appealed for government intervention, while the Oyo State Government said it was working with security agencies, the Imo State Government and NYSC authorities to facilitate the victims’ safe release.
The latest abduction also comes against the background of another highway attack involving corps members in Kogi State, where security agencies previously rescued several victims. The recurrence of such incidents has intensified calls for a comprehensive review of the security risks confronting young Nigerians travelling for national service.
For the Tinubu administration, the situation presents another opportunity to demonstrate that the safety of young Nigerians remains a national priority. While security agencies continue their search-and-rescue efforts in Imo, pressure is mounting for a coordinated federal strategy capable of preventing prospective corps members from becoming easy targets on the nation’s highways.
