16th June, 2015
The recent senseless killings of National Youth Service Corp, NYSC, members serving in various parts of the country is unacceptable and must be immediately addressed by security agencies. The true essence of the NYSC scheme is to engender national integration and unity in the country. For this reason, university and polytechnic graduates are posted to various parts of the country to serve their father land.
Over the years, the scheme has been highly successful until recently when the economic and security situation in the country prompted many to call for a review of the scheme. Since the onset of the Boko Haram terrorism challenge, a good number of young graduates serving in the scheme have lost their lives mostly in the northern part of the country. An unconfirmed report estimated that over 500 corp members have so far been killed by Boko Haram terrorists in the last five years. The number is also estimated to rise as the mayhem unleashed on the country by the sect continues unabated.
More worrisome is the fact that corp members are now becoming endangered youths in local communities where they are posted for their primary assignment. Last week, a corp member simply identified as Akpanika was killed by unidentified assailants in Ezuhu Umuhu Okwuato community in Aboh Mbaise Council of Imo State. Akpanika, who hailed from Calabar Municipal Local Government Area of Cross River State, was murdered at his residence at about 5p.m. on Saturday, June 6, 2015 with knife stab on his body.
The late corps member, who was mobilised for the 2014 Batch ‘C’ and deployed to Imo State, was posted to Christ the Saviour Secondary School, Aboh Mbaise, for his primary assignment. A similar incident also took place in Kwara State last month where 27-year-old Yetunde Sukurat Idowu was killed by unknown assailants. Until her death, Idowu was doing her NYSC primary assignment at Radi Kwara, Ilorin. The deceased corps member was an indigene of Ayetoro in Ogun State. She graduated from Moshood Abiola Polytechnic with Higher National Diploma (HND) in Management. Her body was found on a roadside.
The NYSC is also investigating the killing of another corps member in Benin City, Edo State. He is David Onyeasina, a 21-year-old graduate of Fine and Applied Arts from the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho, Oyo State. He was shot dead by armed robbers recently when he went to buy recharge card at a shop near Edo College where he was posted for his primary assignment.
Considering the noble objective for which the NYSC was set up, we condemn the killings of these corp members and call on relevant authorities to thoroughly investigate the causes of their deaths and bring the culprits to book. It is sad that evil persons in local communities are now hunting those posted to serve in their communities. This is a clear departure from the trend where communities welcome corp members with open arms, make the communities comfortable for them and also provide security for them. This recourse to endangering the lives of these young men and women must not be allowed to continue.
We call on security agencies not to allow these killings to go like the cases of several unsolved murders in the country. The NYSC authorities must stop posting corp members to communities that pose danger to the corp members. These youths must be assured of their safety anywhere in the country and the best way of doing that is to ensure that those who threaten their safety are brought to justice speedily.