By Ogenyi Ogenyi, Uyo
Eight Akwa Ibom Corps members, who were kidnapped in Zamfara State while en route to Sokoto for their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), are appealing to both the Akwa Ibom State and Federal Government for automatic employment to help them recover from the trauma of their ordeal. The corps members were abducted on August 17, 2023, and released at different times over the past year.
During a press conference in Uyo, the President and Founder of the Open Forum Care for Humanity Foundation, Mr. Matthew Koffi Okono, emphasized the need for government support to ease the post-traumatic experiences of the victims. He expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu, Governor Umo Eno, and the Director-General of NYSC for their roles in securing the release of the corps members.
“We want to use this opportunity to thank the President, Bola Tinubu, and our governor, and indeed the DG of NYSC for the part they played in the release of the corpers. We appeal to both the federal and Akwa Ibom State governments to offer automatic employment to ease their post-traumatic experiences,” Okono stated.
Okono also called for reforms within the NYSC scheme to enhance safety and add value to nation-building, suggesting that the program should be more development-oriented.
One of the former corps members, Solomon Bassey Daniel, shared harrowing details of his experience, revealing that he was separated from his colleagues for refusing to pay ransom demands, which his family could not afford. He recounted enduring severe torture, subsisting on leaves, and drinking dirty water for a year. “I went through a lot. I chewed leaves to survive and drank extremely dirty water. I was tortured daily from morning until evening. I could not defecate or urinate for three months. I thought I was going to die,” he recalled.
Another ex-corps member, Miss Victoria Bassey, echoed Daniel’s sentiments, stating, “I never believed I could survive under such terrible conditions. Even during our menstrual periods, we couldn’t bathe. We drank flood water to stay alive.”
Etim Bassey, another abducted corps member, recounted how their bus was intercepted at a poorly marked area in Zamfara, initially mistaking it for a checkpoint. “The area was blocked with logs of wood and manned by armed men in military uniforms, who then ordered us into the forest,” he explained.
The group collectively expressed their gratitude to key figures involved in their rescue, including President Bola Tinubu, NYSC Director-General General Yusha’u Dogara Ahmed, Governor Umo Eno, security operatives, and other well-meaning Nigerians. In addition to employment, they are seeking any assistance that the state and federal governments can provide to help them heal from their traumatic experiences.
