The abduction of prospective National Youth Service Corps members in Imo State has exposed a troubling gap between the Federal Government’s assurances on safer deployment and the reality confronting young Nigerians compelled to travel across the country for national service.
President Bola Tinubu announced in July that deployment to high-risk states would be guided by risk assessment, with priority given to indigenes, residents, graduates of institutions in those states and graduates from neighbouring states within the same geopolitical zones. The policy was intended to reduce the risks associated with sending young graduates into areas affected by insecurity.
But the latest incident raises a fundamental question: what is the value of a policy that is not fully implemented or does not account for the dangers corps members face while travelling to their assigned states?
The immediate danger in the Imo incident reportedly occurred not at an NYSC orientation camp but along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway, around the Umunoha axis of Mbaitoli Local Government Area. Two commercial buses conveying prospective corps members and other passengers from Ibadan to orientation camps in the South-East and South-South were attacked by suspected gunmen on October 1.
Initial accounts from families put the number of abducted prospective corps members at 19. The Defence Headquarters later said 20 passengers were abducted, while 10 victims, including eight prospective corps members, were rescued during follow-up operations. The figures have varied as security agencies continue to establish the full circumstances of the attack.
For the families, however, the uncertainty is not statistical. It is personal and devastating. Some parents have reported ransom demands of as much as N50 million for individual victims, while another report put the alleged combined demand at N1 billion for 20 people. These claims have not been independently verified, but they reflect the anguish and desperation confronting families whose children remain missing.
The incident has also raised serious questions about the conduct of Eduak King Transport Company, the operator reportedly responsible for conveying the passengers.
According to report, parents who visited the company’s Samonda office in Ibadan to obtain next-of-kin details and other passenger information alleged that the company refused to provide adequate assistance. They said such information could have helped affected families contact one another and coordinate their response after the attack.
Mrs Iyabo Akande, whose daughter, Kehinde Marufat Akande, was among the abducted graduates, has appealed to the Inspector-General of Police and the Federal Government to investigate the company and determine whether any action or omission contributed to the difficulties faced by the families.
She also identified the driver as Jeremiah and called for the transport operator to account fully for its role in the journey.
Another parent, Engr. Olawale Olaleye, said the families were shocked to find another vehicle being loaded at the company’s premises when they visited to seek information about their children. The allegations could not immediately be independently established, while reports indicated that the premises were later locked and no official was available to respond.
These allegations must be investigated promptly and transparently. Passenger records, next-of-kin details, travel manifests and emergency contacts are not minor administrative matters. In a crisis involving multiple missing passengers, they can determine how quickly families, security agencies and emergency responders are able to act.
However, the allegations against Eduak King must not be treated as proof of complicity in the abduction without evidence. A formal investigation should establish what information the company held, what its legal and contractual obligations were, whether it complied with them and whether its emergency response was adequate.
The larger responsibility rests with the Federal Government and the NYSC. The scheme’s security policy must cover the entire mobilisation chain, not merely the destination state. It is insufficient to classify a state as safe or unsafe while ignoring the highways, transport routes and transit points corps members must use to reach their camps.
The government and NYSC management should urgently review the use of commercial transport operators for mobilisation. Only accredited companies with verifiable safety records should be permitted to convey prospective corps members. Every vehicle should be tracked in real time, passenger manifests should be securely maintained and shared with relevant security agencies, and emergency communication channels should be available throughout each journey.
There should also be clear protocols for travel timing, route selection, security escorts and rapid intervention when a vehicle deviates from its approved route or loses communication.
Student representatives have already called for accredited operators, vehicle-tracking systems and stronger coordination between the NYSC and security agencies. These proposals should be implemented without delay.
The concerns surrounding NYSC deployment are not new. The scheme has continued to send young graduates into or through areas affected by insurgency, banditry and other forms of violent insecurity. Meanwhile In 2025, 1,303 corps members were sworn in at the NYSC Orientation Camp in Wannune, Benue State, despite serious security challenges in the state. More recently, the NYSC in Bauchi described a damaged camp perimeter fence as a major security threat before repairs were undertaken in January 2026.
The Parent-Teacher Association of Nigeria had earlier urged the Federal Government to stop deploying prospective corps members to unsafe areas and to ensure that adequate security arrangements are made before mobilisation.
The PTA National President, Alhaji Haruna Danjuma, rightly argued that the lives of young graduates should not be endangered in the name of national service.
National integration remains a legitimate objective of the NYSC. But integration cannot be pursued at the expense of the lives and safety of the young Nigerians required to participate in the programme. A compulsory federal scheme carries a corresponding duty of care. The government cannot demand national service and then leave participants to navigate dangerous routes through poorly regulated transport arrangements.
The latest abduction therefore demands more than expressions of concern. It requires an independent investigation, a review of the NYSC deployment policy and immediate reforms to the transportation system used during mobilisation.
The Federal Government must also explain why its announced priority for indigenes, residents, graduates of institutions in high-risk states and graduates from neighbouring states has not prevented young people from being exposed to dangerous journeys. If the policy has been implemented, the government should publish clear details of how it works. If it has not, those responsible must be held accountable.
For now, the immediate priority is the safe recovery of every person still in captivity. The affected families deserve regular, accurate information and meaningful support from the government, the NYSC, security agencies and the transport operator.
The tragedy should serve as a warning that national service cannot be separated from national security. The NYSC may continue to promote unity, but that mission will lose public legitimacy if the government cannot protect the young people it sends across the country.
