The National Youth Service Corps provided military escorts for corps members leaving different orientation camps and travelling back to their respective states on Tuesday, Third Lens has gathered.
The quiet development followed the recent kidnapping of 20 corps members along the Owerri Road in Imo State on October 1, 2026, with some of the victims bounded for Abia, Imo and other camps in the southern states, taken into the forests where they spent days.
The kidnapping of the corps members, who were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, sparked outrage as calls for safety of the NYSC members serving the country intensified.
Third Lens exclusively gathered on Wednesday from multiple corps members, who left the Umunna Bende camp in Abia State, on Tuesday, October 20, 2026 that they travelled in convoy with soldiers from the camp.
Speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, a corps member said it was the directive of the NYSC Director-General, Brig. Gen. O.O. Nafiu, to provide security escorts for all corps members leaving the camp.
“Buses arrived at the camp on Tuesday morning to convey corps members to their respective states, and those buses were provided with military escorts and armoured tanks,” he said.
“It was a convoy from the camp. The State Coordinator, Yunusa Tanimu, was calling us every now and then throughout the journey to know our whereabouts,” another corps member told Third Lens.
“Everyone left the camp at the same time. We were stopping at every military checkpoint. It was an overnight journey from Abia State, so we slept over in Benin. They escorted us until we got to Benin, Edo State, where they eventually left us in the morning. So, the buses, up to 10, continued to their respective states like Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Osun and Ondo states, etc.,” another corps member, who gave her name simply as Cynthia, said.
Sources told Third Lens that the NYSC DG was asked about security for corps members during an interaction with him in the course of the orientation at the camp.
“All other states connected to the call with him. He was asked about security for corps members. That was when he confirmed to us that arrangements were available to provide security coverage for us. He also said the state coordinators would be calling each and every one of us on the journey, and indeed, the coordinator was calling us,” Cynthia added.
It was learnt that similar gestures were extended to corps members who left other orientation camps in the country but there is no confirmation that this happened in all the camps.
A corps member said they also got military escort from Imo camp just as corps members going to Lagos and Ekiti states from Osun camp also had soldiers escorting them. However, a corps member, who camped in Kaduna, said they did not get military escort.
A male copper, who camped in Ede, Osun State, who preferred to be anonymous, said soldiers also followed them while leaving the camp. “Yes, soldiers escorted us. But it was not free. We paid N11,000 each for the transport. They took us to the Lagos camp from Osun State. If it was a normal independent or commercial transport, it would be lesser than that,” he said in a chat.
It was gathered that corps members from Abia camp also paid around N40,000 to transport companies for the trip.
Recall that the 20 corps members kidnapped on October 1 eventually regained their freedom after ransom was reportedly paid to the kidnappers, according to families of the victims who spoke to the press.
However, security agents, including the police, had claimed they jointly secured the release of the victims and denied knowledge of ransom payments.
A serving corps member, who camped in Ede, Osun State, before the newly sworn-in corps members, and who gave her name simply as Temitope, said they were not provided with any military escort during their time. “Escort? No o. We were on our own. The only thing they told us was that we should not to wear NYSC uniforms while travelling from Ede,” she said.
She said the development of providing military escorts must be “due to the growing kidnapping of corps members. That’s why they are sending soldiers to escort them.”
Other corps members, who previously camped in Imo and Ogun states, also said they never got military escorts, suggesting that the development must have been introduced following the recent kidnapping in Imo.
It is not certain if the gesture will continue, or if the next batches of prospective corps members going to camps located far away from their states of residence, will get such protection.
The Director of Information and Public Relations at the NYSC, Caroline Embu, could not be reached for comments on the development, as calls and text messages made to her line were not responded to as of the time of filing this report on Wednesday evening.
On Tuesday, the Department of State Services arraigned five suspects linked to the kidnapping of 20 corps members at the Federal High Court in Imo State.
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