—Afenifere demand safer deployment
By Adeola Badru
IBADAN—A 55-year-old mother, Janet Oladosu, has appealed to the Federal Government to intensify efforts to rescue her son, Greatness, and 19 other prospective National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, members abducted while travelling to their orientation camps.
Speaking with Vanguard yesterday, Oladosu urged the Federal Government, Oyo and Imo State governments and security agencies to make the rescue of the victims a priority.
“All I want is for my son to come back alive. These are young Nigerians who were simply travelling to serve their country,” she said. The 20 prospective corps members, who had collected their NYSC call-up letters, reportedly departed from the Samonda area of Ibadan on September 30, 2026, for orientation camps in the South-East and South-South.
They were reportedly abducted near Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State while travelling towards Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, and Bende, Abia State.
Oladosu said her son had kept her informed of his movements throughout the journey from Ibadan until a message from him suddenly changed the nature of their communication. According to her, Greatness had earlier told her that a prolonged traffic hold-up in Edo State forced the travellers to stop over in Anambra State because it had become too late to continue the journey.
She said he contacted her again the following morning to inform her that they had resumed their journey towards Imo State. “But about 45 minutes later, I received a message from him through another phone. It read: ‘Mummy, we have been kidnapped,’” she said.
Oladosu said another message from her son revealed the circumstances under which he contacted her.
“He wrote: ‘Mummy, I don’t know what will happen to us. I hid this phone in my trouser to send a text to you,’” she recalled.
She said the message heightened her fears because her son was communicating secretly while in captivity and was uncertain about what would happen to him and the other victims.
The incident has triggered renewed calls for a review of the NYSC deployment policy, with the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, calling for reforms to reduce the security risks faced by prospective corps members travelling long distances for national service.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, yesterday, Afenifere urged the Federal Government to expedite amendment of the NYSC Act to allow graduates serve in their states of origin, states of residence or, at least, within their geopolitical zones.
Ajayi said Afenifere had consistently advocated a review of the deployment policy since 2021, particularly following incidents involving the kidnapping or attack of corps members.
According to him, the objective was to reduce the need for prospective corps members to travel from one part of the country to another to undertake national service.
Afenifere also urged the Federal Government, security agencies and the Oyo and Imo State governments to intensify efforts to rescue the abducted graduates.
The group recalled President Bola Tinubu’s July announcement that the Federal Ministries of Youth Development and Justice had been directed to commence the process of amending the NYSC Act and its subsidiary regulations to give legal backing to reforms approved by the Federal Executive Council.
The proposed reforms include risk-based deployment, particularly in states facing security challenges.
Afenifere urged the government to accelerate the legislative process and ensure that the proposed reforms translate into concrete measures to protect corps members.
Pending the amendment, the group called on the NYSC to allow graduates to serve in their states of origin, states of residence or neighbouring states within their geopolitical zones.
It also commended President Tinubu for approving additional Army formations in Zamfara, Kebbi, Oyo and Osun states, saying the development would bring troops closer to vulnerable communities and improve response to security emergencies.
However, Afenifere said military expansion alone would not end kidnapping and banditry, urging effective enforcement of the 2022 Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act.
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