Temidayo Ajayi, a media aide to Bola Tinubu, has stated that the corps member who described the president as a “terrible” leader deserves execution by hanging or firing squad.
The corps member, Ushie ‘Raye’ Uguamaye, made the remark in a recent TikTok post. She is currently serving in Lagos.
Ajayi, displeased with Uguamaye’s statement, called for severe punishment, arguing that as a corps member, she should not have made such a comment.
“If she is not a corper, she can say whatever she fancies like people do per second. Citizens can abuse a living day out of their President or any public official. It is normal,” Mr Ajayi stated on Facebook on Monday. “But a corper violated her oath and code of conduct here. That is capital punishment under NYSC.”
He added, “You can’t abuse the country you are serving as a corper under any guise and the symbol of sovereign authority, which is the president. She should be punished to the fullest extent, not just warned.”
Meanwhile, Inibehe Effiong, a human rights lawyer, has come to the defence of the corps member.
“Criticising the president or the government is not an offence under the NYSC Act (See Section 13). It is also not an offence under the NYSC Bye-Laws (See Section 4 of the Revised Bye-Laws, 2011),” stated the lawyer.
Mr Effiong added, “I have watched all the videos of this lady that are being debated. There is nothing slightly partisan in her comments.”
The rights lawyer noted that Ms Uguamaye “merely expressed her justified frustrations with the state of affairs in the country, particularly the impact of the scourging” inflation on her and other Nigerians.
“That is within her constitutional right to freedom of expression as guaranteed by Section 39 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended),” Mr Effiong explained.
Amnesty International, Atiku Abubakar, and Peter Obi have condemned efforts to silence critics of the incumbent president, including the intimidation of Ms. Uguamaye.
“I am coming from a supermarket where I went to get foodstuff, and everything has gone up again,” Ms Uguamaye had said in a TikTok video. “It’s just like every single week, prices keep increasing. I want to know, what is the government doing about this increase?”
“If a lot of Nigerians come out and start speaking about what we are going through, maybe changes will be made in the government. I don’t know if there is any other president that is as terrible as you (Mr Tinubu). But you (Mr Tinubu) are such a terrible president,” added Ms Uguamaye.
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