Reps ask NYSC, IGP to investigate case of missing corps member

The House of Representatives has called on the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to investigate and lead efforts to rescue Godwin Okeke, a missing NYSC corps member, who has been unaccounted for since May.

The resolution followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by Nnolim Nnaji (PDP, Enugu) on Thursday during plenary.

Mr Okeke, a former student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, and a 2023 Batch B Stream 1 corps member serving in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State with the code number OD/23B/1329, was reported missing on 9 May.

Presenting the motion, Mr Nnaji informed his colleagues that the missing corps member was the best graduating student from the Department of Computer Science at his university.

He highlighted that the family of Mr Okeke had been left with the responsibility of searching for their son, with minimal support from the authorities.

Mr Nnaji recounted how the mother of the missing corps member has been leading the search for her son, with little assistance from the NYSC.

“On 13 May 2024, the family went to Akure in Ondo State and visited his Place of Primary Assignment (PPA), but they could not locate him. The family reported the matter to the police, as well as the local and state heads of NYSC, but they have yet to receive any response,” the lawmaker stated.

As a result, the House urged the Director General of the NYSC, Yushau Ahmed, to provide better accommodation and security for corps members.

Both Messrs Egbetokun and Ahmed were tasked by the House to ensure the safe return of the missing corps member.

The motion was not debated, and when put to a vote by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, a majority of the lawmakers voted in support of it.

The NYSC is a mandatory one-year programme instituted by the Nigerian government for all Nigerian university and polytechnic graduates under the age of 30. Graduates are posted to states outside their home states for the compulsory service, which begins with a three-week orientation camp.

However, the rising insecurity across the country has led many to question the necessity of the scheme. There have been reports of NYSC members being killed by bandits, armed robbers, and even abducted for ransom.

In the last Assembly, a member of the House, Awaji-Inimbek Abiante (PDP, Rivers), sponsored a bill to abolish the scheme. The bill sought to repeal Section 315(5a) of the 1999 Constitution and the National Youth Service Corps Act.

However, the bill was rejected by the lawmakers.