The National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, will no longer post corps members to employers without decent and well-fortified accommodation for them.
The state coordinator of the scheme in Ondo State, Mrs. Grace Akpabio, made this known when she visited the palace of the Jegun of Idepe in Okitipupa local government area, Oba Batuga Akintoye.
“Henceforth, any corps employers or local government councils without well secured accommodation would be blacklisted,” she said.
Akpabio was at the palace to express her displeasure over the attack on some corps members at their residence in Okitipupa.
Her words: “Your royal highness, it is callous and wickedness on the part of some good for nothing individuals to inflict pains and psychological trauma on corps members who left their respective families and loved ones to come over to Ondo State to serve their fatherland only to be rewarded with such inhuman treatment.
“Kabiyesi, some corps members in order to deliver effective service delivery to the host community rented a building which were broken into by miscreants in the society who dispossessed them of their valuables at gun point and went ahead to molest them.”
She added: “I am here on the order of the Director General NYSC, Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim to inform the Kabiyesi and all the corps employers in Okitipupa Local Government that NYSC management has resolved to post corps members to only places where their security are guaranteed with good accommodation.
“It is most unfortunate that when the incident occurred, the NYSC Local Government Inspector informed the Local Government Council of the dastardly act but up till this present time of my visit to assess the situation, the Local Government authorities have not deemed it fit to sympathise with the affected corps members.
“These are our children and the onus lies on us to provide conducive accommodation for them and at the same time ensure that their lives are adequately protected”.
Responding, Oba Akintoye expressed shock over the incident and appealed to the state coordinator to allow him take over the matter with the stakeholders and security agencies within the council area.
The monarch, on behalf of the indigenes and settlers of the town promised that appropriate steps would be taken to forestall future occurrence.
The Jegun of Idepe used the opportunity provided by the visit to call on corps members to report to the palace or security agencies in the town any suspicious movement or activity within their environment.
At the Divisional Police Headquarters in the town, Akpabio passionately appealed to the Police to intensify surveillance and routine inspection to corps lodges across the local government.
Akpabio who was visibly shaken called on all stakeholders especially the security agencies to do everything within the ambit of the law to fish out the hoodlums who perpetrated the heinous crime against humanity.
“We have a working relationship with the Police authority in the state and the Commissioner of Police, CP Adie Undie promised to intensify monitoring of corps members throughout the state when he hosted the NYSC Southwest Area Coordinator, Mr. Emmanuel Danjuma Attah recently in his office.”
The Commissioner of Police said that it was their responsibility to protect the lives and safeguard the properties of all citizens resident in the state but added that corps members had conferred status on them by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which made them special entity whose lives should not be toyed with.
The new Divisional Police Officer, CSP Abiodun Alabi promised to get the locational address of all corps lodges in the council area with a view to adequately provide security for such places.
At the Nigerian Christian Corpers Fellowship Family House where the ugly incident occurred, the state coordinator thanked God that no life was lost during the attack.
Mrs. Akpabio admonished the corps members to see what happened as a test of their faith and encouraged them not to look back or waiver in their service both to God and mankind.
“My dear children, I sympathise with you on this inglorious act but I want you to see what happened not as a stumbling block to your greatness but a stepping stone to your glorious service.
Mrs. Akpabio strengthened the corps members with words from the Holy Bible.
The state coordinator was accompanied on the sympathy visit by the Zonal Inspector, Mr. Olaoluwa Sunday Omotade, and the Local Government Inspector, Mr. Babatunde Oyelami.
