A National Youth Service Corps orientation camp in Maiduguri is in mourning after a female corps member died Monday, April 27, 2026.
The deceased has been identified as Lohina Bamaiyi Ajegena.
She died at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, just days into the three-week orientation exercise.
–What NYSC says–
Borno State NYSC Coordinator Nasir Bello confirmed the death.
He said Ajegena arrived at camp with an “underlying ailment” and never took part in drills.
“She died in the teaching hospital, not during drills,” Bello told reporters. “She did not participate in any camp activity since her arrival because she wasn’t well.”
He declined to disclose the specific illness. “It is not in my position to disclose that,” he said.
— Conflicting accounts–
Camp sources told multiple outlets Ajegena collapsed in her hostel Monday evening after the day’s drills. She was rushed to the camp clinic, then transferred to UMTH, where she was pronounced dead.
A senior security official said: “We had a successful drill that day… But in the evening, the lady collapsed. Maybe it was due to the exercise.”
Another corps member claimed Ajegena was diabetic and her medication was seized at the camp gate. “She has not been taking her drugs according to what we heard from her friends,” the source said.
— Friends remember her–
Fellow corps member Augustine Pamela said she met Ajegena en route to Maiduguri. They became close. Pamela said Ajegena fell ill six days into camp.
“I was the one feeding her, helping her to the toilet, staying awake at night,” Pamela wrote in a tribute. Both were later admitted to the same hospital. Ajegena did not survive.
Social media tributes described her as “lively, friendly, and well-liked within her platoon.”
— The fallout —
The death has triggered grief across NYSC circles online and fresh questions about medical screening and drug policies at orientation camps.
NYSC has not announced any formal inquiry as of press time.
THE CONCLAVE reports that the bottom line is that a young graduate reported for national service. Six days later, she was gone. The camp says underlying illness. Witnesses point to a collapse after drills. The debate continues.
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