Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, on Sunday condemned the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) management for withholding the Discharge Certificate of Lagos youth corps member Ushie Uguamayei, popularly known as Raye. The certificate was allegedly withheld in retaliation for her criticism of the economic policies of the Bola Tinubu administration.
Falana described the move as an overzealous and illegal act, noting that the seizure of the certificate was not authorized by any competent court.
He recalled a similar incident in 1988 when NYSC confiscated the discharge certificate of the late Bamidele Aturu for refusing to shake hands with the then-military governor of Niger State, Lt. Col. Lawan Gwadabe, during the Ibrahim Babangida military regime—a time when human rights were suppressed.
“Since Nigeria is now under a democratic government, Rita Uguamayei’s right to criticize the government is protected by Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution,” Falana stated. He also reminded NYSC authorities of President Bola Tinubu’s Democracy Day speech, where public officers were warned against suppressing dissent, emphasizing that silencing critical voices risks unrest and undermines 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.” Falana urged the NYSC management to release Uguamayei’s certificate without further delay.
Raye gained widespread attention after publicly criticizing the administration on her TikTok account @talktoraye, expressing frustration over Nigeria’s worsening economic conditions, high inflation, and economic hardship. She described President Tinubu as a “terrible leader” and questioned the government’s efforts to alleviate the suffering of citizens.
