Why NYSC Has No Legal Grounds to Sanction Ushie Rita Uguamaye, By Chizelu Emejulu
Editor's note: In this piece, Human Rights Lawyer Chizelu Emejulu argues that the NYSC has no legal grounds to sanction Ushie Rita Uguamaye for criticising Nigeria’s economy. He asserts that non-partisan commentary is not political participation.
Does the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) have the legal grounds to sanction a corps member who publicly expressed her frustration about the Nigerian economy and the President’s apparent incompetent handling of said economy?
Source: Twitter
Ushie Rita Uguamaye, a serving NYSC corps member, has criticised President Tinubu’s administration for the harsh economic realities Nigerians are currently facing. She went ahead to state how the bad economy currently affects her.
To answer the question I raised, let me start by stating that there is an extant NYSC rule which prohibits corps members from making political comments. The prohibition is made in section 4(9) of the NYSC Bye-Laws (Revised 2011).
Section 4(9) provides that corps members shall not participate in partisan politics during their service year and that any corps member who does so is liable to an extension of their service for a period not less than three months without pay.
Having identified the relevant law to the first question, it is time to ask two additional and very salient questions as follows:
1. Does Section 4(9) of the NYSC Bye-Laws apply to an NYSC corps member who made a fair comment about the Nigerian economy and the President’s handling of same? In other words, does making a public and fair comment about the disastrous state of the Nigerian economy, without more, amount to participation in partisan politics?
2. If the answer to the above question is yes, the next question is whether the said section is reasonably justifiable in a democratic society.
The restriction against corps members participating in partisan politics aims to maintain the political neutrality of the NYSC programme, which was established to promote national unity and integration. It also aims at protecting corps members from political victimization or exploitation, especially in a polarized political environment like Nigeria. Additionally, it preserves the credibility of the NYSC scheme, ensuring it is seen as a non-partisan, nation-building institution.
The programme does not seek to create intellectually indolent graduates who have lost their fundamental human rights by reason of being corps members. The section or any provision of the bye-law does not say corps members have lost their right to express themselves through making fair comments publicly about the sorry state of the economy that is ruining their young lives.
Be that as it may, a partisan is a committed member of a political party. In multi-party systems, the term is used for persons who strongly support their party’s policies and are reluctant to compromise with political opponents. Therefore, making a public and fair comment about the poor state of our economy, without more, cannot in any way, shape or form be construed as participation in partisan politics.
Source: Twitter
Even if, for the sake of argument, section 4(9) is interpreted in such a way that it applies to Rita, (which is not conceded), that interpretation is in fact too broad for prohibiting ALL political commentary, including non-partisan, constructive criticism especially when her comments were made outside her official NYSC duties.
Under Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended), every person has the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to hold opinions and receive and impart ideas and information without interference.
This right is, however, not absolute. Section 45(1) of the Constitution allows for restrictions on fundamental rights if they are reasonably justifiable in a democratic society on the grounds of:
• Public defence, public safety, public order, public morality, or public health; or • Protecting the rights and freedoms of others.
To answer all the questions I raised earlier, I would say that prohibiting corps members from engaging in partisan politics may be reasonably justifiable in a democratic society to protect the neutrality of the NYSC scheme. However, prohibiting all political comments or criticisms, when they are clearly non-partisan or aimed at promoting good governance, is unacceptable as the same could be seen as too broad and restrictive. Such a blanket prohibition is a violation of the right to freedom of expression, especially where it silences corps members from expressing opinions as private citizens rather than as representatives of the NYSC.
If the applicability of section 4(9) on Rita who made public comments about the economy in her capacity as a private individual is challenged in court, the court would likely examine the following points, amongst other points: • Whether the restriction is clearly defined and not overly broad, • Whether the restriction serves a legitimate purpose in a democratic society, • Whether section 4(9) is the least restrictive means of achieving that purpose.
In the final analysis, the NYSC has no legal grounds upon which they can sanction Rita for the comments she made. To the extent to which it could be argued that Section 4(9) prohibits corps members from making fair comments about how the Nigerian economy personally affects them and how the President’s apparent incompetence has led to such a bad condition, that section is not justifiable in a democratic society and therefore has to be nullified by a court of competent jurisdiction.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Legit.ng.
Chizelu Emejulu is a Human Rights Lawyer, public speaker, and changemaker with a passion for challenging unjust systems through Strategic Public Interest Litigation. As the founder and Executive Director of Minority Watch, he has over a decade of experience in legal advocacy, advising on local and international human rights laws.
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Source: Legit.ng
