NYSC Abduction: Makinde Campaign Faults Tinubu’s Security Strategy

The Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation (MDPCO) has condemned the abduction of 19 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members travelling from Ibadan to orientation camps in the South-East and South-South.

In a statement on Saturday by its Director of Strategic Communications, Richard Ihediwa, the campaign organization accused the President Bola Tinubu administration of failing to adequately protect Nigerians.

It described the October 1 abduction of the prospective corps members as another indication of what it called the Federal Government’s “lackadaisical attitude” to insecurity.

The Imo State Police Command confirmed that two buses conveying prospective corps members and other passengers from Ibadan to Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, and Bende, Abia State, were attacked along the Owerri-Onitsha Road near Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area.

Police said 10 victims were rescued while search-and-rescue operations continued.

The MDPCO said the incident was particularly distressing because parents had made considerable sacrifices to educate their children, only for them to face abduction while embarking on national service.

“This latest abduction is not isolated. It is part of the horrifying reality under the Tinubu administration, where homes, communities, markets, places of worship, schools and highways are being overrun by marauders and criminal elements,” the statement said.

The campaign organisation further accused the administration of failing to deploy an effective, intelligence-driven security system capable of protecting citizens, despite the sacrifices of security personnel.

It claimed, without providing a source, that more than 600,000 Nigerians had been killed by terrorists, bandits and other armed groups during the Tinubu administration.

The organisation urged Tinubu to adopt what it described as the security approach of its presidential candidate, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, which it said emphasises coordinated operations, intelligence sharing, inter-agency collaboration, preventive measures and rapid response.

It also presented Makinde and his running mate, Musa Daura, as the alternative ahead of the January 16, 2027 presidential election, asserting that Nigerians were determined to support their ticket.

The campaign body said it stood with families affected by insecurity and urged Nigerians to remain committed to its proposed “reset agenda” for the country.