BY UZOR OGECHI MARY

Human Rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has called on the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to release the Discharge Certificate of a Lagos youth corps member, Ushie Uguamayei, popularly known as Raye.

Ushie’s certificate was seized by the Scheme in alleged retaliation for her criticism of the economic policies of the President Bola Tinubu administration.

Falana, who made the call on Sunday, said the decision is a cheap demonstration of overzealousness.

Falana, in a statement, said the decision is a cheap demonstration of overzealousness.

“The seizure of the NYSC Discharge Certificate is illegal as it was not authorised by any competent court. Indeed, it is a sad reminder of the confiscation of the NYSC Discharge Certificate of Bamidele Aturu (of blessed memory) in 1988 by the NYSC Management for rejecting the best Corper Award on the ground that he did not want to shake hands with the military Governor of Niger State, Lt. Col.  Lawan Gwadabe. That was under the Ibrahim Babangida military junta when human rights were put in abeyance.

“Since Nigeria is under a democratic government, Rita Uguamayei’s fundamental right to criticise the government is guaranteed by Section 39 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999. It is pertinent to remind the NYSC Authorities of the Democracy Day Speech of President Bola Tinubu, wherein public officers were cautioned against suppressing dissent and that silencing critical voices could lead to unrest and undermine democracy.

“The President declared, ‘While slander and libel must not go unaddressed, no one should suffer injustice for simply writing a negative report about me or calling me.’ In line with the commitment of the President to encourage Nigerians to criticise the government, the Management of the National Youth Service Corps should release the NYSC Discharge Certificate of Rita Uguamaye without any further delay,” Falana said in a statement.

Raye became an Internet sensation following her public criticism of the present administration, which she described as worsening economic conditions.

Uguamaye had, in a viral video shared on her TikTok account, @talktoraye, expressed frustration over Nigeria’s worsening economic conditions, lamenting the high inflation and economic hardship.

She had also criticised the President by describing him as a “terrible leader” while questioning the government’s efforts to alleviate the hardship faced by the citizens.