Nigerian Bar Association Calls for Minister’s Removal over NYSC Violation

Gom Mirian

The Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law has filed a suit urging the court to remove the Minister of Art, Culture, and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, from her position due to alleged violations of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Act.

The organisation also demanded that the NYSC invalidate the certificates issued to Musawa and music promoter Kenny Ogungbe, claiming that the issuance of these certificates violated the provisions of the NYSC Act.

The plaintiffs in the case are John Aikpokpo-Martins, Chairman of NBA-SPIDEL, and Funmi Adeogun, Secretary of NBA-SPIDEL.

They argue that the mobilisation of Musawa and Ogungbe for the mandatory one-year national youth service, despite exceeding the age of 30, was unlawful and an affront to patriotism.

The plaintiffs further allege that the national service purportedly completed by Musawa and Ogungbe, as well as their certificates of service, are null and void.

The lawsuit, marked FCH/ABJ/05/90/2024, names Musawa, Ogungbe, the NYSC, and the Federal Government of Nigeria as the first to fourth defendants, respectively.

“A declaration that the 1st defendant is not entitled to continue to hold the exalted office of Honourable Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria or any public office in Nigeria after violently violating with flagrant impunity the provisions of Sections 2(1), 12(1), and 13(1) of the National Youth Service Corps Act, Cap. N84, LFN 2004.”

In August 2023, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria had previously accused Musawa of serving as a minister while undertaking the one-year mandatory NYSC scheme. Furthermore, in October 2023, a social media uproar ensued when Ogungbe shared a photo of himself in the NYSC uniform, claiming to have finished the program at the age of 53.