NAFDAC probes death of NYSC corps member at Enugu Camp over suspected substandard medicines
National Youth Service Corps NYSC
Abdullateef Fowewe
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has commenced investigations into the death of a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member at the Awgu Orientation Camp in Enugu State, following reports linking the incident to suspected substandard or falsified medicines.
In a statement on Monday, the agency said, “NAFDAC has commenced investigations into the death of a corps member at the NYSC Orientation Camp in Agwu, Enugu State, following reports linking the incident to suspected substandard or falsified medicines.
“The Agency has visited the camp clinic, interviewed medical personnel and other staff, and collected medicine samples for laboratory analysis. The public is urged to avoid speculation as investigations continue.”
The deceased corps member has been identified as Etimbuk Daniel.
According to NAFDAC’s preliminary account, he was brought to the camp clinic on the evening of 7 October 2026 with symptoms suggestive of severe malaria.
He was also described as a known patient with peptic ulcer disease.
He was stabilised and later referred to the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku-Ozalla, where he went into a coma and died despite resuscitation efforts.
Doctors involved in his care believed the cause of death was acute kidney injury secondary to severe dehydration and shock.
NAFDAC noted that the same medicines administered to Daniel had been given to several other patients at the camp who recovered, and that clinic staff had also used the drugs.
The agency has emphasised that laboratory analysis of the collected samples is ongoing and has called on the public to refrain from speculation while the investigation continues.
NAFDAC, Nigeria’s primary regulator of food, drugs and related products, routinely intervenes in cases involving suspected counterfeit or substandard medicines, a persistent public health challenge in the country.
NYSC orientation camps provide the first phase of the mandatory one-year national service for Nigerian graduates.
Medical facilities at the camps handle common illnesses among corps members, making the quality and safety of medicines administered there a matter of significant public interest.
