Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, have criticised the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) over the decision to withhold the Discharge Certificate of a Lagos youth corps member, Ushie Uguamayei, better known as Raye. 

While Falana described the NYSC’s action as overzealousness, Atiku labelled the moves as impunity.

Falan called the seizure of the NYSC Discharge Certificate “illegal, as it was not authorised by any competent court”.

READ ALSO: Raye’s Certificate Withheld, Service Year Extended By Two Months — NYSC

“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.”

Weighing in on the issue, Atiku demanded that the Raye’s certificate be issued to her.

“What manner of impunity is this? Everything should not be subjected to politics. “I hope that Ushie Rita Uguamaye’s NYSC discharge certificate is not being withheld because she had the courage to complain about the economic hardship under the President Bola Tinubu-led administration.

“It is unacceptable that the young lady, who had served her country without queries, should not have received her National Youth Service Corps certificate one year after passing out.

“The appropriate authorities should take urgent steps to ensure that she gets her discharge certificate,” he stated.

What manner of impunity is this? Everything should not be subjected to politics. I hope that Ushie Rita Uguamaye’s NYSC discharge certificate is not being withheld because she had the courage to complain about the economic hardship under the President Bola Tinubu-led…

— Atiku Abubakar (@atiku) August 10, 2025

Raye made headlines in March after she publicly criticised the present administration, accusing it of worsening economic conditions in Nigeria.

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