The aggrieved corps members decried the dilapidated and near-collapse hostels where they were sheltered, saying such could be best described as dungeon.
The National Youth Service Corps members posted to the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) have lamented the non-payment of their monthly allowances by the university throughout the service period.
While calling on the NYSC management to stop posting corps members to the university until they meet the standards required, the aggrieved corps members decried the dilapidated and near-collapse hostels where they were sheltered, saying such could be best described as dungeon.
They accused two staff of the university – identified only as Mrs Timothy and Barrister Ezekwe –at the university’s Personnel Service unit of being behind the racketeering of corps members’ allowances and lack of accommodation.
Narrating the poor and inhumane treatment melted to serving corps members at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Ayoola (not real name), who just completed her national service at university, said that some of her colleagues were attacked by snakes and scorpions because of the dilapidated lodges.
She narrated: "When we were posted to the University, we meet with the Custodian at Personnel Service unit in the person of Mrs Timothy, assisted by Barr. Ezekwe.
"They tell you, you won't be paid immediately until after three to four months of your service, within which period your name will be processed and entered into the voucher. They told us we'll be paid N5,000 per month immediately our names are entered into the voucher. But until we completed our service year, nothing was given to us but mere promises and fake assurance.
"This has happened in several sets before ours," she lamented.
She added, "During the passing out of each batch, the University releases about N600,000 for celebrating corps members, but none of this was done.
"There's a strong suspicion that our custodians, Mrs Timothy and Barr. Ezekwe are embezzling the funds (both payments and passing out fund)."
Speaking on the state of the lodge they were quartered, the corps members regretted that they were allocated a lodge which "is similar to a dungeon. I have the pictures to show you that what I saying is factual and not makeup story."
Describing the situation as unfortunate, she revealed that worst of it all was that when "any corps member tries to question why the payment isn't coming or why the party isn't held, they (custodians) threatened or evicted such corps member from the lodge."
In justifying their illegal action, "they will claim the lodge is too small to accommodate the number of corps members, yet they accept a large number. In my set we were 113 corps members.
"Unfortunately, there's an official corpers’ lodge built for corps members, but they don't allocate corps members there. Rather, I heard it was rented out.
"Creatures of the night, snakes, scorpions, owls attack corps members in their rooms and bathrooms. When corps members report such, they make fake promises of coming to fix the lodge.
"Corps members are prone to attack in that lodge because it's dilapidated and abandoned, people don't even believe anyone can stay there," she narrated, while displaying the pictures of the dilapidated lodge.
Check by SaharaReporters shows that the lodge in question was the first lodge UNN ever had but had since been abandoned because of the contention between Nnamdi Azikiwe's family and the University over ownership.
But she wondered why the university authority should post corps members to such dilapidated facilities.
"They keep accepting corps members to run duties that staff should run yet don't dim it fit to pay them. If you complain, Mrs Timothy and Barr. Ezekwe will issue you a query."
She disclosed that left UNN depressed and empty, adding that "sometimes we won't be given water. We would carry buckets on our heads roaming the streets of Nsukka. It was terrible experience and if we don't expose it now they will keep doing the same thing year after year."