The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has scheduled September 8 to 12, 2026, for the physical verification of foreign-trained Nigerian graduates ahead of the 2026 Batch C Stream I service year. Nine verification centres have been designated across Nigeria, including Lagos, Abuja, and Enugu. Applicants must present original academic credentials, travel documents, and other required certificates. Only graduates successfully verified will be deployed, exempted, or excluded from the 2026 Batch C Stream I national service.
Verification Exercise Dates and Centres
According to an announcement posted on NYSC's X account on Thursday, the exercise will run from Tuesday, September 8, to Saturday, September 12, 2026. The scheme stated: "Prospective Corps Members whose credentials and travel documents are yet to be physically verified are to report for verification on the date, time and venue indicated on their verification slips."
The agency advised applicants to adhere strictly to the information on their slips to avoid unnecessary congestion at the centres. The nine designated centres are: Enugu (NYSC Secretariat, 2 Abakaliki Road, GRA), Bauchi (Shadawanka Military Barracks), FCT (NYSC Orientation Camp, Kubwa, Abuja), Kano (Bukavu Military Barracks, Fagge, Airport Road), Lagos (NYSC Orientation Camp, Iyana Ipaja), Osun (NYSC Secretariat, New Ikirun Road, Osogbo), Rivers (NYSC Secretariat, 40 Ikwerre Road, Port Harcourt), Sokoto (Eagle Officers' Mess, Giginya Cantonment, Gusau Road), and Adamawa (NYSC Secretariat, Federal Secretariat Complex, Yola).
Required Documents for Verification
Affected graduates are expected to bring the original copies of every academic certificate and travel document they uploaded, or intend to upload, during online registration. Medical graduates have additional requirements: they must upload their practising licences, registration certificates, and other documents issued by their professional regulatory bodies. These originals will also be inspected during the exercise.
The scheme further directed applicants to submit the original copies of their Federal Ministry of Education Evaluation Letters at the NYSC Headquarters in Abuja while uploading the acknowledged copies online. NYSC warned that only graduates who appear in person and have their documents successfully verified will be considered for deployment, exemption, or exclusion from the national service programme. "Only prospective corps members who are physically seen with their credentials, verified and cleared will be deployed, exempted or excluded from national service," the statement read.
Why Foreign Graduates Undergo Extra Checks
Nigeria has produced thousands of graduates from universities across the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Ghana, Cyprus, Malaysia, India, the United Arab Emirates, and several other countries. Many of these institutions are globally respected and have produced Nigerians who excel in medicine, engineering, technology, business, academia, and public service worldwide.
However, the Federal Government introduced stricter verification measures following repeated cases of fake foreign degree certificates and admission fraud uncovered in recent years. The process aims to ensure that only graduates with genuine qualifications participate in the NYSC scheme. For those preparing for the 2026 Batch C Stream I mobilisation, attending the verification exercise with the required original documents could be the difference between getting a call-up letter and missing the service year.
