Human rights lawyer Femi Falana, on Sunday, criticised the National Youth Service Corps over the decision to withhold the discharge certificate of Ushie Uguamayei, popularly known as Raye, in alleged retaliation for her criticism of the economic policies of the Bola Tinubu administration.
Falana, in a statement, stated that 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.”
Raye became an Internet phenomenon after publicly criticising the current administration for what she described as worsening economic conditions.
In a popular video posted on her TikTok account, @talktoraye, Uguamaye voiced anger with Nigeria’s deteriorating economic situation, citing rising inflation and economic hardship.
Raye had also criticised the President, describing him as a “terrible leader” while questioning the government’s efforts to alleviate the hardship faced by the citizens.
