It’s been almost four months since eight members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) were abducted en route to Sokoto on August 17. In September, the NYSC announced the freedom of three of the victims.

On October 3, however, the families of the victims refuted the news of the release in a report by Vanguard newspaper.

The controversy and the apparent lack of a practical solution have sparked concerns about the relevance of the scheme, especially in the face of daunting insecurity. These concerns may not be entirely unfounded, considering the trend of kidnappings that have trailed the NYSC.

NYSC KIDNAP CASES BETWEEN 2013 AND 2023 by Timileyin Akinmoyeje

FIJ observed, for instance, that at least 83 corps members have been reportedly kidnapped in Nigeria in the last decade. FIJ also gathered that Rivers State recorded the highest number of kidnap cases involving corps members in the last decade. At least 40 corps members have been kidnapped in the state since 2013.

In the last five years, the frequency of corps member kidnaps increased drastically compared to previous years. Sixty-three out of the 83 victims were reported kidnapped between 2018 and 2023 alone.

Here is a timeline of these kidnappings and how they happened.

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MAY 2013

In May 2013, two youth corps members were kidnapped from their lodge at the Odegu Comprehensive High School in Rumewewhor, Emohua Local Government Area.

The kidnappers were reported to have invaded the lodge heavily armed. There were no reports about the release or the identity of these two corps members.

JUNE 2013

Ogechi Martins, Chijioke Richard and Esther Nwachukwu were kidnapped from the Ogonokom Corper’s Lodge on the last Saturday of June 2013. These corps members were abducted from their lodge at Ogonokom Community Secondary School, Abua Local Government Area, Rivers State, around midnight.

The three spent 10 days in the kidnappers’ detention until their release on July 7, 2013. The kidnappers were reported to have demanded a ransom of N20 million from the victims’ families.

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JUNE 2014

On June 5, 2014, four corps members were kidnapped in Rivers State. This time, the corps members were abducted at Abonema in the Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The corps members were rescued by a joint military task force called Operation Puelo three days after they were abducted.

APRIL 2015

In April 2015, a corps member was kidnapped in a violent attack against the Eku community in the Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State.

Daily Post reported that about 20 armed men attacked the community and killed two people before abducting the corps member. There were no reports about the identity or release of the corps member.

OCTOBER 2015

Duru Obinna Chizitere was kidnapped alongside three school teachers from Rundele High School, Agba Ndele Community, on October 12, 2015. Classes were reportedly still in session when the heavily armed kidnappers arrived and abducted the corps member and the teachers.

The school, located in the Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State, was shut down for a few days following the kidnapping. The kidnappers reportedly demanded an initial amount of N25 million for the release of the victims.

The Nation newspaper reported that the ransom was reduced to N8 million, then N6 million, as the community and the victim’s families could not raise the sum. This was the last major piece of news on the whereabouts of the corps member.

NOVEMBER 2015

Samson Worlu was kidnapped in November 2015 while serving his fatherland in Imo State. The corps member was reportedly lured into abduction. Worlu’s family told Premium Times that they lost communication with him after dropping him off at Rumuokoro junction in Rivers State.

Worlu’s kidnappers demanded an initial ransom of N5 million from his family. Worlu was, however, murdered after his family provided a total sum of N1 million.

In 2016, the State Security Service arrested and charged Chijioke Wisdom, Chinwendu Alozie, Wilfred Jumbo, Igwe Chikezie and Gift Peace Amadi for Worlu’s murder.

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DECEMBER 2016

Grace Oghene Edegware was kidnapped on her way to Lagos in December 2016 in the Kwali Local Government Area of the Federal Capital Territory.

In the same month, 16 corps members were reportedly abducted from different parts of Rivers State while working for the Independent National Electoral Commission in the 2016 Rivers State election rerun.

The abducted corps members were reportedly rescued by the officers of the Nigerian army on the same day of the abduction. Edegware was also released on December 26 due to the concerted efforts of her family and security officers.

OCTOBER 2017

Blessing Nwapa was kidnapped on a Friday in 2017 while returning from work in the company of other NYSC members in Lafia. Nwapa was reportedly the only female among the corps members. She was released five days after her abduction.

Nwapa was discovered to have been beaten and tortured by her captors. She confirmed this to newsmen at the state hospital in Lafia, according to a report by the PUNCH.

OCTOBER 2018

Abiola Temitope, Olubisi Adekanmi, Jose Temitayo, Folarin Opeyemi and Shonibare Ademola were abducted by unidentified gunmen alongside two other passengers in October 2018.

The corps members were en route to their orientation camps in Akwa Ibom and Rivers State. They were kidnapped on the Owerri-Port Harcourt expressway on their way to the Oyo State capital.

The kidnappers reportedly took the victims to Umuapu forest in the Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State and demanded a N5m ransom.

Fortunately, Dasuki Galadanchi, the Commissioner of Police in Imo, later confirmed the successful rescue of the victims from the kidnappers three days after the abduction.

FEBRUARY 2019

The largest single abduction of corps members happened in February 2019. Eighteen corps members were abducted in Akwa Ibom State while serving as ad hoc staff of INEC during the presidential and National Assembly elections.

These corps members were abducted across different parts of the state, according to the state’s electoral commission. The state electoral commission later disclosed in a statement that 14 of the 18 corps members had been rescued from the gunmen.

JUNE 2019

In June 2019, Ogechi Onyema, Chioma Nnaji, Florence Ogeh, Abel Akinduro, Franklin Ayama and Solomon Akinpelu were kidnapped in a commercial bus alongside two other people on their way to Port Harcourt from Lagos State.

The victims were stopped and taken into a forest in Evekwu, Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State. The state police command reportedly rescued and debriefed the corps members a few days after they were kidnapped.

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MAY 2019

Abraham Amuta Abah was abducted alongside three others by Boko Haram members in May 2019. Abah was reportedly on his way to Chibok with three members of the Living Faith Church to distribute relief items when he was kidnapped.

Abah’s abductors also reportedly requested a ransom fee between N200 million and N100 million. There have been no reports of Abah’s release since his abduction in 2019.

MARCH 2020

On March 9, 2020, gunmen attacked an 18-sitter bus that had 13 corps members along the Funtua-Gusau expressway. Due to a timely distress call, the Katsina State Police Command rescued nine corps members immediately in the nearby Doka forest.

The remaining four were abducted for a ransom fee of N10 million, according to a report by The Nation newspaper. The corps members were reportedly rescued two days after they were abducted.

OCTOBER 2021

Armed bandits kidnapped two prospective corps members under the cover of darkness on October 23, 2021. The corps members were reportedly deployed to Sokoto and Kebbi State. They were kidnapped along the Tsafe-Gusau road in Zamfara.

There were also speculations that more corps members were kidnapped in the same attack. The two victims were, however, released about a week later, according to media reports.

MARCH 2022

Faith Onoride was abducted on March 21, 2022, on her way to Jigawa from Delta State. According to reports, the exact location of the attack was the Regina community on the Abuja-Kaduna road.

Onoride’s kidnappers demanded a ransom fee of N40 million, according to her family. She reportedly regained freedom in June, three months after she was kidnapped.

Daily Post reported that her family parted with ransom items that include a motorbike, five Tecno phones and N100,000 worth of airtime. Onoride’s family also paid a sum of N2 million to the kidnappers to secure her release.

In the same March, one NYSC member was reportedly among the victims of the Kaduna train hijack. The Abuja-Kaduna train was attacked in Katari. Out of the 970 people on board, 62 were abducted. Abducted victims were released in batches up until August 6, 2022.

Three days after Onoride’s incident in March, at least four corps members were kidnapped in the Ochadamu community of Kogi State. The corps members were kidnapped alongside a pregnant woman and an orphaned child en route to Lagos.

Kidnappers, in this case, demanded a ransom of N10 million per head. There have been no reports about the release of any of the victims.

In a similar incident on March 25, Blessing Sunday was kidnapped in Kogi alongside five other corps members on their way to Kaduna from Ondo State. The abductors also demanded a ransom of N10 million per head for their release.

Three days after they were abducted, Sunday and the other corps members were rescued by officers of the Ondo State Amotekun corps. Two suspects were arrested in connection to the incident.

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OCTOBER 2022

Two corps members were abducted by gunmen in the Mikang Local Government Area of Plateau State on October 4, 2022. Both corps members were abducted at the Government Secondary School, Zomoh. One of the corps members reportedly escaped captivity on October 6. There have been no reports about the release of the other corps member.

DECEMBER 2022

On December 6, 2022, one corps member was abducted on Arab road, Kubwa, alongside seven other people. The armed attackers reportedly shot two male victims, killing one in the process. The Guardian newspaper reported that Adenike, the corps member, was kidnapped in her father’s residence. No report about her release has surfaced since the kidnap.

MARCH 2023

Two corps members were abducted alongside four INEC officials during the Kogi State House of Assembly election in March. The corps members were reportedly kidnapped in Obajana on their way back from Kupa after the polls. The abductors demanded a N50 million ransom for all the six victims.

MAY 2023

At least five corps members were abducted in the Emuoha Local Government Area of River State on May 16. The corps members were returning from their orientation camp in Ondo State when they were abducted by armed men on the Rumuji axis of the East-West Road in Emohua.

While the total number of victims was not ascertained, five of the corps members reportedly escaped. The escaped victims reported to the Rumuji Divisional Police Office in River State.

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AUGUST 2023

Esther Abosede Akande was abducted on August 16 on her way to the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Magaji Dan Yanusa Keffi, Nasarawa State. Akande was released after four days at a ransom cost of N1 million.

A day after Akande was abducted, the Zamfara incident happened. In the most recent development, NYSC spokesperson, Eddy Megwa, claimed publicly that one female victim had been rescued on October 20.

NOVEMBER 2023

In November, two corps members were abducted by bandits in the Yargoje community, Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State. The corps members were reportedly on their way from Edo State when the bandits kidnapped them.

A statement made by the Nigerian Army on November 4 claimed that the two were rescued in a joint operation with the Nigeria Police Force.