NDC, LP, SDP, Others Demand Rescue of Corps Members

The National Democratic Congress and the Labour Party have condemned the abduction of Prospective Corp Members while demanding their immediate and safe rescue.

The NDC National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, and his Labour Party counterpart, Ken Asogwa, made their positions known in separate telephone interviews on Sunday.

NDC Director said the government had a constitutional responsibility to protect the lives and property of Nigerians.

“We should not play with the lives and security of our children, as they are the future of the country. The primary purpose of government as enshrined in Section 14(2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) is the security of lives and property of the citizens,” he said.

The NDC spokesman called for an overhaul of the country’s security system.

“Obviously, the APC government has failed in its primary responsibility to the people. We need an urgent surgical operation of our security architecture. Only a government with political WILL can do that,” he said.Politics

He added, “Therefore, the NDC, under the leadership of Peter Obi, is prepared to give Nigerians a government that would protect and secure their lives for economic prosperity.”

Similarly,LP Asogwa described the abduction as evidence of worsening insecurity and what he called moral decay in the country.

“The kidnap of the corps members is indeed a reflection of the decay in the land. Beyond the perversion of insecurity that is so easily reflected in the crime, it is a testament to the fact that our moral fabrics are at the lowest ebb,” he said.

He expressed concern that the victims could be abandoned like other Nigerians still in captivity.

“As we speak, kidnapped Niger State school pupils are still in captivity and the nation seems to have moved on. I hope that Nigeria will not also abandon these innocent corps members whose only offence was enrolment into the mandatory NYSC scheme,” he said.

Asogwa urged the Federal Government to prioritise the victims’ rescue.

“The Federal Government should employ the same energy it has exerted in muzzling opposition voices to rescue these innocent corps members without harm. That is what the state exists for,” he said.

In the same vein, the Social Democratic Party, through its spokesperson, Rufus Aiyenigba, described the abduction as “a shame of a nation.”

He said, “That we have 20 young Nigerians serving their fatherland being held by abductors, and N50m ransom is being demanded per abductee, is a shame of a nation.

“That our military and intelligence systems are unable to flush out kidnappers and bandits from our forests, with our yearly humongous security budgets, speaks to the precarious state of our homeland security and the imperative of fresh and modern governance perspectives.”

He called on the government to “aggressively deploy security measures to bring about a reversal of the alarming trend of abductions across Nigeria, to secure citizens, and to restore public confidence.”

“Considering the underwhelming performance of this administration, particularly in the area of security and welfare of citizens, the only option for Nigerians to reverse the alarming trend is to vote out the government and bring in competent hands like the Adebayo-Bugage team, bubbling with vibrancy, creative ideas, and solutions to our national malaise.”

He added that “an SDP-led Federal Government will certainly come up with practical reforms of the NYSC scheme in a manner that will reduce the associated risks for participants and enhance its mandate delivery beyond the yearly rituals.”

In its contribution, the Young Progressives Party condemned the abduction, describing it as unfortunate and a “painful reminder of the failure of government to adequately address Nigeria’s worsening security challenges.”

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Wale Egbeola-Martins, said the security situation in the country had reached an alarming level.

“The fact that the abductors are reportedly demanding ransom underscores the dangerous scale of the kidnapping economy and the urgency with which the government must act.”

The party called on the President Tinubu-led government to demonstrate greater capacity and political will to tackle insecurity.

“Government cannot continue to respond to abductions after they occur; it must develop intelligence-driven, preventive security measures that make kidnapping increasingly difficult and unprofitable. If the government continues to fail in its fundamental responsibility to protect lives and property, Nigerians will have the opportunity in 2027 to make their judgment at the ballot box,” the YPP image maker said.

While noting that the NYSC was long overdue for comprehensive reform, the YPP said the scheme was established for a different era and that its objectives “must now be reimagined to reflect the realities and needs of contemporary Nigeria.”

Rather than exposing young graduates to unnecessary security risks through compulsory deployment to distant and sometimes volatile locations, the scheme should become more innovation- and entrepreneurship-driven, the party said.

The Seyi Makinde Allied Peoples Movement 2027 Presidential Campaign Council also called on President Bola Tinubu to take immediate action to rescue the abducted corps members.

In a statement signed by its Director of Strategic Communications, Richard Ihediwa, the council urged the President, as Commander-in-Chief, to ensure the safe and unconditional release of the victims.

The council also called for intensified efforts to rescue other Nigerians abducted in Niger, Kwara, Kaduna, Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina, Borno and other parts of the country.

The campaign organisation said, “The Makinde-Daura Presidential Campaign Organization demands that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu lives up to his billing as Commander-in-Chief and brings back the prospective National Youth Service Corps members who were abducted in Imo State on Independence Day.Politics

“In the same vein, the MDPCO demands that President Tinubu should take a decisive step to secure the unconditional release and safe return of other Nigerians abducted in Niger, Kwara, Kaduna, Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina, Borno and other parts of the country under his watch.”

The council said the continued captivity of the corps members was unacceptable.

“Nigerians cannot afford a leadership that is not alive to the primary purpose of government, as provided under Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), which is the security and wellbeing of citizens,” it said.

It called on the President to act decisively on insecurity and secure the release of the abducted corps members and other Nigerians in captivity.