By Deborah Nnamdi
The Benue State Coordinator of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Mrs. Veronica Garba, has confirmed that corps members stationed in areas affected by unrest have been safely relocated to family houses in Makurdi.
Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Wannune, Tarka Local Government Area, Mrs. Garba stated that the relocation was carried out immediately after the crisis was reported. She explained that NYSC management promptly contacted the police, who facilitated the evacuation of corps members from Yelewata and Daudu.
According to Garba, the corps members were moved to secure locations, including facilities operated by the Nigeria Corpers Christian Fellowship (NCCF), National Association of Catholic Corps Members (NACCM), and Muslim Corpers Association of Nigeria (MCAN).
“We prioritize the safety of our corps members and regard them as our children,” she said. “As soon as we got wind of the crisis, we reached out to the Commissioner of Police, who immediately dispatched officers to assist in the evacuation.”
“We then did our headcount, and none was missing, so we arranged with the heads of all the family houses and got them settled in Makurdi, for now, pending when the situation will improve,” she said.
She urged parents to be calm, saying that their children were safe.
The coordinator also assured parents that with the relocation of security chiefs to Benue, the situation would improve.
“I am sure that the parents of our corps members have heard that all the security chiefs have moved to Benue, so they have no reason to fear.
“Above all, God, who is the safest security, is everywhere; He is with your children too,” Garba said.
NAN reports that President Ahmed Tinubu was in Makurdi on Wednesday, where he held meetings with stakeholders and directed security agencies to ensure adequate security in affected communities and arrest suspects involved in the attacks that claimed many lives. (NAN)
