ICIR
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) mandates every prospective corps member to submit a medical fitness certificate on arrival at camp for the 3-weeks orientation course. The scheme also grants corps members with certain illnesses the concession to relocate to another state. This investigation reveals how corps members falsify medical documents to deceive camp officials at the orientation camps. Nurudeen AKEWUSHOLA reports.
In April 2019, tragedy struck at the NYSC orientation camp in Bauchi state when 28-year old corps member, Magdalene Yohanna, collapsed during exercise.
Efforts to resuscitate her proved abortive as she eventually died at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, Bauchi.
The NYSC while debunking allegations that it concealed her death explained that Magdalene had presented a ‘clean bill of health’ medical fitness certificate whereas she was asthmatic.
The NYSC has said that some corps members with peculiar health challenges conceal their health status and attempt to participate in the orientation exercise which is always rigorous and strenuous.
This challenge makes it impossible for the scheme to appraise their fitness or otherwise before subjecting them to rigorous camp activities and mobilising them for youth service.
The ICIR findings show that some corps members obtain medical fitness certificates from online vendors who forge the documents for a token.
A few days before her reporting date for the orientation course, 24-year old Omolara (not real name) went to the University of Ilorin teaching hospital to make enquiries about the process of obtaining a medical fitness certificate and she was told it would take her about two weeks.
Before going for the enquiry, Omolara had been advised by her friend who is an ex-corps member to obtain it from online vendors as it is cheaper, faster and less rigorous to obtain.
She eventually patronised an online vendor and the certificate was sent to her mail within 24-hours. This she presented at her orientation camp in Ebonyi state.
“I got it [medical fitness certificate] in one WhatsApp group. There was a guy who was advertising medical fitness certificates in a WhatsApp group that I was in at that time. I don’t even know the guy, he only asked for my details after I made the payment and he sent it to my e-mail. I did not go to any hospital before I got my medical fitness certificate,” she explains.
Another corps member serving in Kaduna State also told The ICIR that he got his through Facebook.
“I did not even step outside before I got it from the person. I just provided the necessary information I had: genotype, blood group, height, weight and they just put negative to all other viral load tests like Hepatitis, HIV and others,” he told The ICIR
Encounter with peddlers of fake medical documents
Findings by The ICIR led us to several Facebook and WhatsApp groups where medical documents are issued indiscriminately and those who issue the medical certificates forge certificates of various medical centres in Nigeria as a result of a lack of effective means of checking, corps members get away with it.
The reporter worked with a young man who knew about these fakes and how to obtain them. For the purpose of anonymity, he will be referred to as Abdulwasiu.
Abdulwasiu reached out to some of the vendors advertising the medical documents on social media and findings revealed that it takes at most 24 hours to obtain these medical documents without undergoing any test.
Epueke Mmaduka Mathew is the admin of “NYSC Batch A, B, C 2022” and one of the vendors of fake medical fitness certificates.
When Abdulwasiu reached out to him, he asked for his full name, age, sex, genotype, blood group, state of residence and e-mail and attached it with his account number meant for the payment of N2,000 to obtain the certificate.
“If you are ready, please do, I don talk pass work wey I wan do. Aren’t you on the Facebook page? If I am a scammer, you will see people already dragging me in the group,” he replied while trying to assure this Abdulwasiu of its acceptability at NYSC camps.
“More than hundreds of corps members have done this already. Pay N2,000 to this account and I’ll send you the PDF file once you make payment,” he added.
AfterAbdulwasiu sent the details and filled SS as the genotype, the vendor rejected it, advising the young man to use AA or AS to avoid being caught and if he wishes to relocate, he needs a medical report.
