Human rights activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, said on Monday that the youth corps member Ushie Uguamaye who criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration over hardship is under tremendous pressure to apologise.
Sowore, who accompanied the corps member to the NYSC Local Government Inspector’s office in Lagos alongside a team of lawyers, said government officials, including ministers, had been reaching out to pressure Uguamaye to apologize.
Speaking on Arise TV on Monday night, Sowore insisted that the corps members committed no crime by exercising their freedom of expression in criticizing Tinubu’s administration.
In a now-viral TikTok video, a Lagos-based corp member, Uguamaye, on Saturday criticized President Bola Tinubu’s government, expressing frustration over Nigeria’s worsening economic conditions, lamenting the high inflation and economic hardship.
She also criticised the President by describing him as a “terrible leader” while questioning the government’s efforts to alleviate the hardship faced by the citizens.
The corp member complained, “I am coming from a supermarket where I went to get foodstuff, and everything has gone up again. It’s just like every single week, prices keep increasing.
“I want to know what the government is 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.”
She later alleged that she had received threats over her comments, sparking widespread debate on free speech and political dissent in Nigeria.
She also shared a screenshot of an invitation from the NYSC, summoning her to appear before the LGI office at Eti Osa 3 on Monday at 10:00 a.m
On Monday, Sowore, in a video shared on X on Monday, revealed that he had met with Uguamaye in Lagos and would be accompanying her to the NYSC Local Government Inspector’s office alongside a team of attorneys.
“The journey with youth corper, Ushie Rita Uguamaye, has commenced in Lagos.
“She is scheduled to appear before the LGI (Local Government Inspector) today and we will escort her to their offices. We are all en route with attorneys,” Sowore captioned the video.
Giving an update later, the activist wrote: “We arrived at Eti-Osa LGI offices of the National Youth Service Corps with youth corper, Ushie Rita Uguamaye in Lagos. She was scheduled to appear before the LGI today and we escorted her to their offices with attorneys, Festus Ogun, Adeyinka Oyesomi and Ojienoh Justice but LGI officials had absconded failing to show up throughout our stay. We will be back! #RevolutionNow #tinubuisaterriblepresident.”
