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National service recruits at risk of kidnap in Nigeria

Nigeria’s National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is a one-year mandatory national service for university graduates. The idea came about in the 1970s with the hope that it would foster unity among Nigeria’s different ethnic communities.

Typically, NYSCorpers - as they are known - are posted to schools or hospitals often far from home in remote parts of the country. But the risk of kidnap by bandits and armed gangs is increasing. Many young NYSC recruits are scared they’ll be targeted while travelling on Nigeria's long and remote roads.

Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ reporter, Frey Lindsay, talks to young recruit Patience and her father Desmond (not their real names) about what happened when Patience's bus was stopped by kidnappers as she travelled to attend a weeklong orientation camp in central Nigeria – the ransom demanded and how her father got her back.

(Photo: Dirt road in Nigeria | Credit: Getty Images)

Release date:

Duration:

2 minutes