The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has secured the release of one of the eight prospective corps members abducted on their way to the orientation camp in Sokoto State.

Recall that bandits abducted the eight graduates and their bus driver on August 17, 2023, along a highway in Zamfara State.

NYSC spokesperson, Mr. Eddy Megwa, who disclosed this in a statement on Monday, February 5, 2024, said the driver of the bus was also rescued.

According to Megwa, the latest development brings the total number of Prospective Corps Members (PCMs) already released to five.

It added that efforts are still ongoing to ensure that the remaining three (one female and two male) still in captivity regain their freedom soonest.

“The combined efforts of the National Youth Service Corps and the military have witnessed the further release of another female Prospective Corps member, including the driver of the bus kidnapped in Zamfara State on their way to the NYSC Orientation Camp in Sokoto State last year,” the statement reads.

“The Director General of the National Youth Service Corps, Brigadier General YD Ahmed, appreciates the security agents for their untiring efforts that resulted in the release of the PCMs, adding that the scheme will never shirk its responsibility of upholding the welfare of Corps members at all times.”

However, it did not state if a ransom was paid for the release.