By Ebere Inyama
(Kogi state, Nigeria). Conflicting updates from the police concerning the status of 15 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members kidnapped by suspected Fulani Ethnic Militia in Kogi state and the testimonies of the rescued victims have raised questions about the operational efficiency of the Nigerian police.
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is a mandatory, post-tertiary scheme set up by the Nigerian government in 1973.
Graduates of universities and colleges are required to take part in the National Youth Service Corps program for one year. This is known as the “National service year.”
Victim’s Testimony Contradicts Police Report
Courtesy – The Authentic TV
Whereas the Nigerian police claims that the abducted NYSC members were rescued by security operatives, one of the victims, a corps member named David Ayodele, reported to friends that he and the abducted corps members escaped from the kidnappers den, according to a report by Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ).
“After escaping from the kidnappers, they ran to the nearby villages where they contacted each of their parents with one of the villagers’ phones,” the report by FIJ stated.
“Their parents then forwarded the phone numbers of the soldiers they had been in contact with, and they went in numbers to their location,” the report added.
The corps members were traveling to Abuja from the NYSC orientation camp in Bayelsa state on 26 August, 2026, when they were ambushed by gunmen suspected to be Fulani Ethnic Militia along the Aloma–Egane Expressway in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
An eye witness to the abduction reportedly said the attackers included people speaking Fulfulde, Hausa and English.
Contradictory police reports vs official misinformation
The Kogi State Police Command had on Sunday 29 August, 2026, stated that its operatives in collaboration with other security agencies had rescued 11 out of the 15 abducted NYSC members, but later clarified that only one corps member was rescued.
Some hours later, on Monday, 31 August, 2026, the Commissioner of Police in Kogi State, Naziru Bello told journalists in Lokoja that 6 of the 15 Corps members had been rescued.
But the same day, (Monday 31 August, 2026), the Kogi state command spokesperson, Saliu Oyiza Afusat, stated that 10 members of the Corps members who were abducted in the state had been rescued.
Nigerian Army Escalates Controversy
At the monthly briefing of Defence Correspondents on ongoing military operations against insurgent activities in the various theatres of operations across the six geo-political zones of the country, the Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Michael Onoja, stated that the 15 NYSC members kidnapped in Kogi state on 26 August, 2026 had all been rescued.
“The Armed Forces of Nigeria is also happy to announce that a total of 21 victims, comprising eight males and 13 females—15 of them being National Youth Service Corps members—have just been rescued within Egume and Ochaja forest stretch in 2 Division area of operation,” Onoja said.
The claim made by Onoja and the reports made by the police prompted the Students’ Union Government (SUG) of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), to call for clarity over the reported rescue.
“Families are still seeking answers. Victims are still being accounted for. Yet reports suggesting that everyone has been released continue to circulate without resolving these questions,” the union stated.
Implications for Nigeria’s democracy
While the NYSC members were still in captivity, their abductors contacted their families and demanded a ransom of ₦20m ($14,500) for each corps member, according to reports by Daily Trust and other media platforms including Authentic Television.
In a scholarly article published in December 2025 titled “The Organised Crime Of Kidnapping In Nigeria”, the authors, Christopher Enemuwe, Janet Okine & Stella Gyau, noted that “there has been an alarming increase in the kidnapping of people in Nigeria regardless of social status, by non-state actors who are ideologically averse to the current formal political arrangement”.
“The inability of security agencies to thwart kidnappings in Nigeria or apprehend perpetrators in various cases has resulted in significant frustration and a deterioration of public confidence in the government”, the authors added.
In a message to TruthNigeria, a U.S – based Global Security Analyst, Dr. Sylvester Okere, called the attention of the Nigerian people to the fact that the kidnappers terrorizing the residents in the country can easily be identified and apprehended if those in leadership positions in the country live up to their responsibilities.
“Someone is indeed operating these terrorists, banditry and kidnapping industries in Nigeria”, Okere wrote in his message to TruthNigeria
“They’re husbands, uncles, brothers, cousins, nephews, friends, colleagues, and fellow religious members, and there’s no way someone isn’t connected to them,” Okere continued.
“Either Nigeria is a country within another country, or we have imbeciles at the helm of leadership,” Okere added.
Ebere Inyama reports on conflict and religious freedom for TruthNigeria.
