The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has rejected claims that substandard medicines caused the death of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member Etimbuk Daniel at the Awgu Orientation Camp in Enugu State, citing preliminary findings pointing to severe dehydration and shock.
NAFDAC's Investigation and Preliminary Findings
NAFDAC's Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed in a statement issued on Monday, October 19, 2026, that the agency's officers had visited the camp clinic, interviewed medical staff and other personnel, and collected medication samples for laboratory analysis. The investigation followed reports suggesting Daniel may have died from substandard or falsified medicines, which the agency explicitly sought to debunk.
According to the statement, two fellow corps members brought Daniel to the clinic at around 9pm on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, with symptoms consistent with severe malaria. Daniel was also known to have peptic ulcer disease. Doctors stabilised him with an intramuscular antimalarial drug and intravenous supportive medications before placing him on bed rest for monitoring. He was discharged on Thursday morning, October 8, 2026, with oral drugs.
Daniel returned to the clinic unaided on Saturday, October 10, reporting pain in his right thigh. Doctors referred him to a physiotherapist but noticed he was sweating heavily. A blood pressure check revealed a dangerously low reading of 80/40mmHg. He was placed on intravenous Normal Saline, but his blood pressure continued to fluctuate, and his urine output remained poor despite fluid treatment.
Transfer to UNTH and Cause of Death
Doctors arranged for Daniel to be transferred by ambulance to the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) in Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu State. "He went into coma at about the time of arriving at UNTH. All efforts at resuscitating him failed," the statement said. Medical staff at the camp later learned from a friend of Daniel's that he had been vomiting for two days after his first admission—a detail the doctor was not aware of at the time.
According to BBC Pidgin, medical staff believed the cause of death was "acute kidney injury secondary to severe dehydration and shock." NAFDAC also noted that the same medications given to Daniel had been used to treat other patients at the camp, all of whom recovered. Medical and pharmacy staff at the clinic had reportedly used the same drugs themselves on separate occasions. The investigation remains ongoing, and no laboratory test results have been released yet.
Senate Orders Separate Probe
Daniel's death also drew attention from Nigeria's upper legislative chamber. Media aide to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Anietie Ekong, announced last Thursday that the Senate had resolved to investigate the circumstances of his death. The decision followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by Senator Aniekan Bassey, representing Akwa Ibom North-East, who called for a review of medical services across all NYSC orientation camps in the country.
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) president confirmed Daniel's death, noting he was the immediate past Students' Union Government (SUG) president of Akwa Ibom State University. In a separate incident, NYSC State Coordinator Nasir Bello confirmed that a female corps member died after being taken to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital following a medical emergency. Bello stated that the deceased had an underlying ailment and did not participate in camp activities due to her health condition. Camp sources reported that the corps member collapsed in the evening and was rushed for treatment, raising concerns over health monitoring at the orientation camp.
