Management of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has allayed the fears of parents of serving and prospective corps members that the corps members are the target of insurgents operating in the NorthEast region particularly in Borno State believed to be the epicentre of insurgency.
There has been insinuation being spread on the social media that some corps members belonging to a particular tribe and region serving in Borno State are targeted for assassination by the insurgents.
While allaying the fears of Nigerians particularly parents and relatives of the corps members about the insinuation, the NYSC in a press release issued by the North-East Area Coordinator, Tobias Ibeh, copies of which were made available to newsmen on Tuesday described the insinuation as a baseless rumour that cannot be substantiated by the peddlers.
The statement reads: “The rumour was created and bandied by a faceless group, purporting to be a tribal association of corps members serving in the State. The group alleged threats to lives of corps members from a particular state of origin in the country by the insurgents and surprisingly, the civilian militia, created for counter-terrorism action in the State.”
The NYSC stated that there is no known, recognised or unrecognised association of corps members representing any ethnic group, or states in Borno State adding that it is antithetical to the philosophy behind the establishment of the scheme in almost 47 years ago.
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According to the corps, the scheme posted all serving corps members in Borno State to safe havens for their primary assignments in order to put them away from trouble zones.
“All the corps’ lodges in the state are equally located in places where the security of corps members is well guaranteed. Kindly note that the NYSC Zonal and Local Government Inspectors are in constant liaison with corps members with a view to making their safety top priority,” it clarifies.
The NYSC added that “It is highly gratifying to reveal that during a recent meeting of the corps members with the NYSC State Coordinator precisely on 24th January 2020, during which they ventilated their challenges among others, none of them complained either overtly or covertly about the threat to life.”
It further stated that “Be that as it may, all corps members in the state are admonished to always remain security conscious. They should avoid associations, hangouts, actions or inactions that could advertently or inadvertently jeopardise their personal safety.”
“Accordingly, parents and relatives of the corps members, as well as the public are by this release enjoined to keep calm as the alarm raised is a hoax,” it concluded.
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