The father of a corps member kidnapped in Zamfara State, has accused security agencies and the National Youth Service Corps of showing no concern towards the situation.
Emmanuel Etteh’s daughter was one of eight graduates abducted while en route from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State to their NYSC orientation camp.
Sleeknews reports that gunmen abducted eight members of the NYSC on a highway in Zamfara on Saturday, August 19. The corps members were travelling inside an AKTC bus from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, to Sokoto State, en route to Zamfara State, to take part in the mandatory national service.
In a live appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday, Etteh described the over two-week-long ordeal as devastating, given the lack of communication on the part of the authorities.
“Security agencies are not caring, NYSC leadership shows no concern, and everyone behaves as if nothing happened.
“Every activity is going on, and I keep on asking, ‘Is this a type of government we want for our country? Is this the type of security we can feel safer with?’ NYSC invited these children out of their homes to Sokoto.”
Personnel of the Nigerian Army in collaboration with operatives of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps have uncovered no fewer than 12 illegal oil refining sites in Owahwa Creek, in the Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta state.
The operatives also discovered 60 crude oil cooking ovens, 14 reservoirs, six wooden boats laden with stolen crude, and 470 sacks of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil in the camps.
A statement on Monday by the Director, Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu revealed that troops also intercepted stolen crude oil in Udu and Tsekelewu, Warri North Local Government Areas of Delta.
The statement read, “Troops of the Nigerian Army in synergy with personnel of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps have continued to crack down on saboteurs of Nigeria’s oil sector in Southern Nigeria.
“Troops of 181 Amphibious Battalion conducting anti-oil theft operations on Saturday, 2 September 2023, cracked down on oil thieves’ camps in Owahwa Creek in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta state. In the crackdown, the vigilant troops discovered 12 active illegal refining sites, 60 crude oil cooking ovens, 14 reservoirs, 6 wooden boats laden with stolen crude, and 470 sacks of illegally refined AGO concealed in the camps.
“Relatedly, the same troops also intercepted a vehicle conveying 25 polytene bags of suspected illegally refined AGO in Ogbodu Community, in the Udu Local Government Area of Delta State.
“In a similar operation also conducted on 2 September 2023, troops of 3 Battalion, intercepted two wooden boats ladened with stolen crude in Tsekelewu, Warri North Local Government Area of Delta state.”
The concerned father expressed his disappointment with the Director General of NYSC, stating that he had hoped for a higher level of commitment from the organization. The father argued that the NYSC had not met the expected standards.
Etteh added that nobody cared to reach out to the parents or discuss the situation.