We Will Prosecute You - NYSC

 

The National Youth Service Corps on

Friday said it would “begin to prosecute

corps members, who abscond from their

national service for something else.”

The NYSC said this in reaction to the case

of a corps member, Akeem Adekunle,

deployed to Akwa Ibom State and posted to

Itam Secondary School in Itu Local

Government Area, who had been

purportedly ‘missing’ for a few months.

The ‘missing’ corps member has, however,

been ‘found’ with his family members in

Lagos after allegedly absconding from his

place of primary assignment.

The PUNCH had exclusively published

stories on the ‘missing’ corps member on

national assignment in Akwa Ibom State.

A statement by the Director of Press and

Public Relations in NYSC, Mrs. Bose

Aderibigbe, alleged that Adekunle

abandoned his place of primary

assignment three months ago and since

then had been with his family members

without reporting to the authorities.

According to her, the team set up by the

Director-General of NYSC, Brig.-Gen.

Johnson Olawumi, visited the family of the

missing corps member to unravel the

circumstances leading to his disappearance

only to discover that he was with his family

members.

The leader of the team, Mr. Micheal Ahile

and Director (Corps Welfare and

Inspectorate) confirmed that Akeem

Adekunle “abandoned his place of primary

assignment some three months ago in

Akwa Ibom State and since then has been

with his family members without reporting

to the team.”

The NYSC said it “discovered that the

family members have been shielding the

corps member while giving the impression

that he was missing.”

Ahile, who was accompanied by NYSC’s

Head of Legal Unit, Ahmed Tijani, and

Assistant Director (Press and Public

Relations Unit), Eddy Megwa, warned that

“the NYSC will not tolerate a situation

where family members will cover up for

corps members who abandon national

service.”

The team also visited the family of Egwu

Donald, who was confirmed by the police

to have drowned in a river in Delta State

and the family of Ekong Samuel, who the

police also confirmed was kidnapped and

murdered under mysterious circumstances.

The NYSC team, on behalf of its DG,

expressed sympathy with the families of

both corps members and assured them that

the organisation fully identified with them

in the painful situation they were passing

through.