Fears over the safety of Nigerian graduates serving under the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme have reached a fresh peak, with the National President of the Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria calling on the Federal Government to abolish the programme if it cannot protect corps members from kidnappings and attacks.
Haruna Danjuma made the demand amid a wave of reported abductions, killings and assaults on corps members across the country. Speaking on Saturday, he said parents could no longer watch in silence as young graduates were put at risk during what is a compulsory national assignment.
"On behalf of parents, we are not happy with what is happening. It is painful to lose a child. It is not easy to train a child from birth until they complete University and then at NYSC, the child gets kidnapped," he said.
Danjuma urged the Federal Government to require State Governors and their security structures to formally guarantee the safety of corps members before any deployment is approved. "The Federal Government should ensure that Governors and the security architecture of each state sign an undertaking guaranteeing the safety of corps members before they are deployed there," he said, adding that the scheme's purpose was already undermined if participants could not serve safely.
The Executive Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, backed the parents' position, describing NYSC's handling of security incidents as irresponsible. "The concerns of the parents are absolutely right. There is no way someone would train his child up to that level, send him to NYSC, only to end up paying ransom," he said.
Sanusi called for an immediate ban on deploying corps members to areas with active security threats. "NYSC should not shy away from its responsibilities and leave parents to struggle with payment of ransom," he said, insisting that the scheme retains a duty of care towards every Corps Member until the completion of their service year.
The outcry was sparked in part by the case of Musa Abba, a Plant Science and Biotechnology graduate of the Federal University Gusau, who has been held in captivity since 9 January after being abducted while travelling to Sokoto to begin his service. His family, reportedly unable to raise the ₦10m ransom demanded by his abductors, held a burial ceremony for him on 5 March. A subsequent video released by the abductors showed him alive but visibly weakened.
The incident has intensified longstanding questions about the NYSC scheme's ability to safeguard the graduates it mobilises each year.
