The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has refuted widespread rumors suggesting that a tragic road accident involving prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members occurred en route to Gombe State.

Earlier reports, notably from Gistreel, had suggested that a group of aspiring NYSC members had perished in a crash while traveling to the state’s orientation camp. However, these claims have been thoroughly debunked.

Viral report – fake

Our investigation confirms that the NYSC orientation camp in Gombe is currently underway, with new participants slated to officially start their induction on Friday.

The viral message initially claimed that 16 individuals lost their lives and two others were critically injured. However, a comprehensive fact-check, including consultations with authoritative sources, has established that these assertions are baseless and part of a misleading narrative.

FRSC’s Public Relations Officer, Janet Kassa, clarified the situation, stating, “I have checked with my colleagues, and there is no evidence to suggest such an incident occurred in Gombe, or at all.”

“I have placed a series of calls across units and commands to authenticate the report, but there is no sign. This may be one of those posts to get comments and views.”

She further said to the correspondent that they’d be updated with the arrival of any new, credible information:

“I will let you know once we come up with fresh revelations, but for now, it’s not true. It should be disregarded.”

Likewise, the spokesperson for the Gombe State Police Command, DSP Buhari Abdullahi, confirmed that no incident matching the viral claim occurred anywhere in the state.

“We are still investigating to know, but as I speak from morning till now (night), no new findings.

“In the reports circulated, there was no mention of the hospital where the others were deposited or the proper address,” Abdullahi added.

NYSC debunks report

When reached for comment, Jennifer Laha, the Public Relations Officer of the NYSC in Gombe, also rejected the circulating images, labeling them as questionable.

“Well, I don’t have anything to say at the moment as the headquarters has yet to issue an official statement.

“However, from the pictures I saw, it looked like Artificial Intelligence pictures, from misspellings and all that. Also, NYSC doesn’t give prospective corps members a bus to take to orientation camps,” she added.