The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) yesterday said no youth corps member participating in the general election was beaten to death contrary to social media reports.
The Director, Press and Public Relations of the corps, Mr. Eddy Megwa, who disclosed this yesterday in a statement, said the brutalized corps member did not die as reported but is recuperating after receiving treatment at the hospital.
He added that the brutality of the said corps member was a case of mistaken identity. “Indeed, a corps member deployed to LEA primary school, Lugbe as an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ad-hoc staff, was brutalized by an angry mob on the suspicion that he was involved in the act of thumbprinting ballot papers in favor of one of the presidential aspirants.
He said: “To put issues in proper perspective, the brutalization of the corps member was a case of mistaken identity. This was made known after an investigation by the security agencies.”
He also clarified that the corps member was not part of the criminal gang involved in the said act, adding that the culprits who were neither corps members, nor officials of the NYSC have been apprehended by the Police.
”The scheme, therefore, wishes to call on Nigerians to exercise restraint on issues that concern corps members and other electoral officers on national assignment during the general elections.”
Megwa, however, reiterated the scheme’s stand on electoral malpractice by any participating corps member.
”In any case, the management of the scheme will not shield any corps member that runs foul of the Electoral Act if found guilty. Management wishes to, once again, admonish corps members participating in the conduct of the general elections to ensure the highest degree of neutrality and discipline in their approach to the national assignment.”
He added that membership of the corps could not prevent them from prosecution if there was infraction to the Electoral Act.
