The mother of one of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, members abducted while travelling to their orientation camps has appealed to the Federal Government to intensify efforts to secure their release.
Fifty-five-year-old Janet Oladosu, whose son Greatness is among the victims, urged the Federal Government, the Oyo and Imo State governments and security agencies to make the rescue operation 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,” Oladosu begged.
The 20 graduates, who had collected their NYSC call-up letters, reportedly left the Samonda area of Ibadan on September 30, 2026, for orientation camps in the South-East and South-South.
They were allegedly abducted near Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State while travelling towards Uyo in Akwa Ibom State and Bende in Abia State.
Oladosu said she remained in regular contact with her son throughout the journey until their communication suddenly changed.
According to her, Greatness had earlier informed her that heavy traffic in Edo State had delayed their journey, forcing the travellers to stop in Anambra State because it had become too late to continue.
She said her son contacted her again the following morning to say they had resumed their journey towards Imo State.
About 45 minutes later, however, she received a message from another phone.
“Mummy, we have been kidnapped,” the message read.
Oladosu said another message from her son revealed that he had secretly hidden the phone in his trousers to contact her.
“Mummy, I don’t know what will happen to us. I hid this phone in my trouser to send a text to you,” he reportedly wrote.
The abduction has renewed calls for changes to the NYSC deployment system, with Afenifereurging the Federal Government to amend the NYSC Act to reduce the security risks associated with long-distance deployment.
The group’s National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, said Afenifere had advocated the reform since 2021 following attacks and kidnappings involving corps members.
Afenifere called for graduates to be allowed to serve in their states of origin, states of residence or, at minimum, within their geopolitical zones.
The organisation also urged the government to accelerate proposed amendments to the NYSC Act and implement risk-based deployment, particularly in areas facing security challenges.
It further called for intensified efforts to rescue the 20 abducted graduates and urged effective enforcement of the 2022 Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, arguing that additional military formations alone would not eliminate kidnapping and banditry.
