The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) have denied a viral social media claim alleging that 16 prospective corps members travelling to Gombe state died in a road crash.
The post, which circulated widely on Wednesday, claimed that two others were critically injured in the alleged incident.
Checks by Punch revealed that Janet Kassa, spokesperson for the FRSC in Gombe, said investigations across all units and commands showed no record of such a crash.
“I have checked with my colleagues, and there is no indication this happened in Gombe, not to mention that it even occurred,” Kassa said, urging the public to disregard the claim.
Jennifer Laha, NYSC spokesperson in Gombe, also dismissed the images accompanying the viral report, describing them as suspicious and unrelated to any corps-related incident.
In the wake of the rumours, Corpers’ Journey Advocacy Network (CJAN) reached out to the management of Adeyemi Federal University of Education (AFUED), Ondo — the school from which the purported victims were said to have travelled. The institution’s authorities denied knowledge of any such accident.
The NYSC scheme requires thousands of graduates to travel long distances to various states for their mandatory one-year service. Over the years, several fatal accidents involving prospective or serving corps members have been documented, raising safety concerns among graduates and parents.
The agency has repeatedly warned against night travel and unsafe journeys, urging new corps members to prioritise safety.
In January 2025, four people died when a vehicle conveying corps members to the Ebonyi orientation camp rammed into a parked truck.
As of the time of filing this report, NYSC national spokesperson Caroline Embu has not responded to further enquiries on broader safety concerns surrounding corps members’ travel.
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