Boko Haram abducts NYSC member travelling to IDP Camp ‘for relief work and evangelism’
Boko Haram insurgents have kidnapped Abraham Amuta, a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, Rabiu Aminu, the Borno State Coordinator of NYSC, has confirmed.
Speaking with the media in Maiduguri, capital of Borno State, on Monday, Aminu said the corps member was abducted alongside a Living Faith Church pastor simply identified as ‘Oyeleke’ in an attack coordinated by the insurgents against motorists on Maiduguri-Chibok Road on April 10.
He said the corps member, with Registration Number BO18b/067, was deployed to Borno State Council of Arts and Culture, Maiduguri, but he and his pastor were abducted while travelling with other members of the church.
“The church claimed that the corps member was abducted alongside his pastor,” Aminu said. “NYSC deploys corps members to only four of the 27 local government areas in the state. The councils are Jere, Bayo, Biu and Maiduguri Metropolitan Council.
He explained that for any corps member to travel, he has to apply through proper channels, which involves formal request from his employer, through the zonal inspector and channelled to the state coordinator, where it would be considered for approval or rejection. This, he said, the corps member did not do.
“It was unfortunate that the said corps member travelled on his own,” he said.
“We have been having sleepless nights over the issue, because he is under our custody. We visited the church, and the Commissioner of Police called us on Friday over the incident and assured us of their total support in addressing the situation.”
The alarm about Amuta’s kidnap was first raised on Twitter by his friends, who said he and the pastor were abducted two weeks ago while travelling to Chibok to distribute relief items to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and evangelise.
Amuta, it was learnt, is the only son of his parents.
“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,” Success Ezenaya, one of his friends, wrote.
“He is a Batch B, stream 1 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.”
Due to the volatile nature of Borno State, corps members are usually given the option to redeploy. In November alone, a total of 818 out of 1,118 corps members of the Batch C redeployed.
Credit: Sahara Reporters
