The National Youth Service Corps has distanced itself from a pamphlet circulating across social media platforms suggesting that corps members should pay ransom if abducted.
The organisation stated that the document is fake and not an official directive of the NYSC.
In a statement posted on its X handle on Thursday, the NYSC management explained that although a consultant once proposed a similar document in 2021, the scheme never approved or implemented it.
According to the statement, **“The attention of the Management of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has been drawn to a purported NYSC pamphlet advising corps members to pay ransom in the event of kidnapping.
“While a similar document was presented to Management for consideration by a consultant in 2021, it was not adopted by the Scheme.
“Management, therefore, wishes to make it clear that the document being circulated is not an official NYSC publication and does not represent the Scheme’s policy regarding staff and corps members’ security; as such, it should be ignored.”**
The agency reiterated its commitment to safeguarding corps members, stressing that it continues to collaborate with security agencies and other relevant stakeholders to ensure their protection.
The clarification follows the resurfacing of the controversial pamphlet online, reigniting public concern over Nigeria’s worsening insecurity and the growing threat of kidnapping.
The document initially went viral in September 2021 after screenshots of its content spread widely on social media. It advised travellers on “high-risk roads” to inform “family, friends, or colleagues” so someone would be available to “pay off the ransom that could be demanded” should they be kidnapped.
Page 57 of the handbook containing ‘Advisory action when kidnapped or taken hostage’
At the time, the NYSC first dismissed the pamphlet as fake but later admitted that different versions had circulated, prompting an internal review.
Its reappearance comes at a tense period nationally, marked by recent abductions in Kwara State and renewed global attention following US President Donald Trump’s recent warning of possible military action against Nigeria over alleged persecution of Christians.
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