NYSC member still in Boko Haram captivity as colleagues pass out
A National Youth Service Corps member, Abraham Amuta, who was abducted by Boko Haram insurgents in April, is still in captivity as thousands of others in his batch prepare for their passing out parade on Thursday, marking the end of their compulsory service year.
Amuta, who is a Batch B Stream I of the 2018 NYSC set, was abducted with three other members of the Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel) by gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram on their way to Chibok to distribute relief items to internally displaced persons and evangelise.
Amuta’s housemate, Success Ezeanya, had tweeted, “Abraham Amuta is a corps member serving in Maiduguri. He was abducted by Boko Haram two weeks ago. He went for evangelism with a pastor from his church – Living Faith. He is an only son. Let’s not forget him in our prayers.
“He is a Batch B Stream I corps member serving in Maiduguri, Borno State. It’s been over two weeks now since he went missing in Maiduguri. Some people claiming to be Boko Haram have called and claimed to have abducted him. Please retweet until the Federal Government sees this.”
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The NYSC confirmed the passing out of corps members in a statement posted on its Facebook account on Friday.
It said, “The management of the National Youth Service Corps has approved the passing out of the 2018 Batch ‘B’ Stream I corps members for Thursday, 27th June, 2019. The event will be low-key.”
According to the statement, the events include the release of passing-out corps members by employers on Tuesday, the signing of final clearance by zonal Inspectors and administration of questionnaire on those passing out on Wednesday, and the distribution of certificates of national service to deserving corps members at local government level on Thursday.
It added, “The Director-General, Brig.-Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim, wishes the out-going corps members a successful winding-up and passing-out exercise and the best in their future endeavours.”
Another NYSC member, Value Akhigbe, who served in Plateau State, had been reported missing on December 11, 2018, two days before he was to participate in his passing out.
The House of Representatives Committee on Youth Development, in May, called on Ibrahim to investigate the circumstances surrounding Akhigbe’s disappearance.
Ibrahim promised to do everything within his power to find out how the corps member went missing in collaboration with the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu.
