How NYSC member was killed, others kidnapped along Jere-Abuja Road

Authorities at the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) have narrated how 17 corps members on a journey were attacked on Wednesday along Jere-Abuja Road, and one corps member was killed.

The management of the NYSC on Wednesday issued a statement on the incident.

It reads: “The attention of NYSC Management has been drawn to the news with the above caption making the rounds concerning the death and alleged abduction of some Corps Members travelling from Osun State by kidnappers.

“The true position is that, indeed, 17 corps members that completed the 2020 Batch Batch “B” Stream 1B Orientation programme at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Ede, Osun State, on Tuesday, 22nd December 2020 boarded vehicles heading towards the northern part of the country.

“Tragically, along Jere-Abuja Expressway, they were accosted by a gang of armed robbers whose sporadic gunshots unfortunately felled Corps Member Bomoi Suleiman Yusuf.

“It is imperative to state that the 16 other Corps Members were never abducted.

“The death of any Corps Member is a big loss, not just to his family, but to the Scheme and the entire nation at large.

“Sadly, it is always the darkest moment in the life of the Scheme. Management wishes to convey its deepest condolences to the family of Late Corps Member Yusuf, and prays God to grant them the fortitude to bear the painful loss.

“The Director-General wishes to admonish all Corps Members to at all times adhere strictly to the safety guidelines issued to them from time to time, which particularly frowns at night travels.

“May the soul of Bomoi Suleiman Yusuf rest in peace.”

Meanwhile, the Assistant Director of the NYSC in Osun State, Mrs Funmi Okundaye on Wednesday said that the NYSC had gotten in touch with the family of Yusuf Sulaimon Bomoi.

Speaking with Tribune Online in Osogbo, the Assistant Director, however, added that, very soon, a delegation would be sent to go and pay a condolence visit to the family of the deceased in Kaduna from Osun State hinting that NYSC in Kaduna would first pay a visit to the affected family because of their proximity.

The Assistant Director who claimed that they had left NYSC camp in Ede since Tuesday morning wondering what they could have been doing on the road till the early morning of Wednesday when they were attacked.

She said all of them embarked on the trip in a hired bus.

Mrs Okundaye who stated that he was the only unlucky one out of his colleagues that travelled on the ill-fated bus, stating that the case was not an abduction but armed robbery.

According to her, he was the only passenger that sat in front of the bus.

She also stressed that other persons who sustained various degrees of injuries managed to escape and had been taken to different hospitals in the area where the incident happened for medical treatment.

The NYSC boss further disclosed that out of the injured ones, some had been discharged while those who are yet to be discharged are currently being attended to.

She, however, said that the death of the deceased made them to be grieved and prayed to God Almighty to give the bereaved family, the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.