The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) extended the service year of Rita Ushie, also known as Raye on Instagram, by two months as a punishment for publicly denouncing President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Raye, who had only one month remaining in her service, attracted national prominence in March after releasing a viral video on TikTok decrying Nigeria’s deteriorating economic situation and calling the Tinubu-led administration “terrible”.
She further claimed that NYSC officials threatened her and demanded she remove the video.
The event provoked uproar among civil rights organisations and Nigerians, who saw the NYSC’s response as an attack on free expression.
Following the backlash, the NYSC Local Government Inspector summoned Raye to the Eti-Osa office in Lagos.
However, when she appeared with her legal team and activist Omoyele Sowore, the official who issued the summons was apparently not there. The issue quickly receded from public discourse.
But on June 18, she was summoned again, this time to the NYSC orientation camp in Iyana Ipaja, Lagos, to face a disciplinary tribunal.
After several delays and no formal notice, she was eventually informed that her service year had been extended by two months as a sanction.
According to Jonathan Ugbal, South-South Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, Raye was very unhappy with the decision.
“Her mother called me, saying she was crying on the phone after being told of the extension. She’s not in the right frame of mind to speak right now,” he told CrossRiverWatch.
Ugbal further said that, despite her low financial means, Raye arrived at the camp as directed and even apologised to staff members who were embarrassed by the public outcry.
Raye’s first video, published on her TikTok account @talktoraye, showed her in tears, frustrated by the rising expense of life in Nigeria.
She said that her earnings were no longer sufficient to meet basic bills and accused the government of neglecting ordinary persons’ situations.
