NYSC announces physical verification, releases 9 states for foreign-trained graduates' verification; see full list

• NYSC fixed September 8 to 12, 2026, for physical verification of foreign-trained graduates.

• 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.

If you're a foreign-trained Nigerian graduate hoping to serve in the 2026 Batch 'C' Stream I NYSC programme, this is one update you don't want to ignore.

After weeks of anticipation, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has released the dates and venues for the compulsory physical verification exercise for graduates who obtained their degrees outside Nigeria.

For many foreign-trained graduates, this stage has become one of the most important parts of the mobilisation process. Unlike graduates from Nigerian universities, those who studied abroad must go through an extra verification process to confirm that their academic credentials and travel documents are genuine before they can be mobilised for national service.

The exercise will run from Tuesday, September 8, to Saturday, September 12, 2026, and only those who successfully complete the verification will move on to the next stage.

Announcing the exercise in a post shared on its X account on Thursday, the scheme said:

"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 also advised applicants to stick strictly to the information on their slips to avoid unnecessary congestion at the centres.

READ ALSO: Nigerian ABU engineering students build electronic walking aid for over 24 million Nigerians living with vision loss, plan AI upgrade

NYSC has designated nine centres across the country for the exercise.

They include:

• Enugu: NYSC Secretariat, 2 Abakaliki Road, GRA, Enugu.

• Bauchi: Shadawanka Military Barracks, Bauchi.

• FCT: NYSC Orientation Camp, Kubwa, Abuja.

• Kano: Bukavu Military Barracks, Fagge, Airport Road, Kano.

• Lagos: NYSC Orientation Camp, Iyana Ipaja, Lagos.

• Osun: NYSC Secretariat, New Ikirun Road, Osogbo.

• Rivers: NYSC Secretariat, 40 Ikwerre Road, Port Harcourt.

• Sokoto: Eagle Officers' Mess, Giginya Cantonment, Gusau Road, Sokoto.

• Adamawa: NYSC Secretariat, Federal Secretariat Complex, Yola.

According to NYSC, affected graduates are expected to come along with 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 original documents 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."

READ ALSO: ‘I made nothing less than ₦10m monthly selling akara and bread’ — Akwa Ibom governor reveals life before politics

Over the years, 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 now excel in medicine, engineering, technology, business, academia and public service around the world.

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 is aimed at ensuring 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.