Photo: Corps members at an NYSC orientation camp swearing-in ceremony — file photo, Wikimedia Commons
A viral video showing prospective corps members sleeping on mattresses laid side by side on the floor of the multipurpose hall at the NYSC Orientation Camp in Sagamu was a temporary arrangement for people whose registration ran into the night, the Ogun State Government has explained.
The video, from the Batch C Stream II orientation on Monday, showed dozens of corps members bedding down in the hall of the camp popularly called the "Five Star Camp," drawing criticism online.
In a statement on X, Kayode Akinmade, Special Adviser on Media and Strategy to Governor Dapo Abiodun, said registration, screening and hostel allocation are solely the responsibility of the NYSC, and that the hall was used temporarily for those still completing credential verification late into the night.
- More than 4,300 prospective corps members arrived, against about 2,000 in previous batches
- 4,152 were registered: 3,698 deployed to Ogun and 454 transferred from Lagos, per NYSC Coordinator Frances Omolabake Adewuyi
- The state supplied 500 mattresses; the Akarigbo of Remo donated 100, with 200 more pledged
Why the Sagamu camp was overwhelmed
The numbers explain the crush: arrivals more than doubled the camp's usual intake. Akinmade also recalled that the state paid a 50,000 naira transport grant to each of the 3,050 corps members of Batch C Stream I.
Civil society group MonITNG described the scenes as a disgrace and called for an investigation. The NYSC's national spokesperson had not responded to enquiries by Monday night in the reports reviewed.
What happens next
With registration now completed for the stream, the affected corps members are expected to be fully absorbed into hostel accommodation as the orientation course proceeds. NTN will watch for the NYSC's national response and any federal intervention in camp capacity planning for future streams.
Credit: Punch, Vanguard and Daily Post reports of November 9–10, 2026, and the Ogun State Government statement by Kayode Akinmade.
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