Two senior legal practitioners, Olukunle Ogheneovo Edun, SAN, and John Aikpokpo-Martins, Esq., have instituted a Fundamental Rights Enforcement action before the High Court of Delta State, Warri Judicial Division, challenging the continued deployment of National Youth Service Corps members to states and areas affected by serious insecurity.
The suit, marked DTHC/WRR/FR/1/2026, was filed against the National Youth Service Corps and the Attorney-General of the Federation as 1st and 2nd Respondents.
The Applicants, who are legal practitioners and former National Officers of the Nigerian Bar Association, said the action was brought in the public interest and on behalf of corps members mobilised for national service by the NYSC. They also stated that, as parents with children in Nigerian universities who will soon be due for the NYSC scheme, they have a direct concern in the safety and welfare of young graduates posted across the country.
In the suit, the Applicants are asking the court to declare that the continued posting of corps members to states with documented high security risks, including Zamfara, Katsina, Borno, Kaduna, Niger, Kwara, Sokoto and Kebbi, violates their constitutional rights to life and dignity of the human person guaranteed under Sections 33(1) and 34(1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution.
They are also relying on Section 17(2)(b) and 17(3)(c) of the Constitution, which provide for the sanctity of human life and the protection of persons in employment.
The Applicants further want the court to declare that corps members have a constitutional right to refuse or reject deployment to areas prone to banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery and communal clashes where there are credible threats to their lives.
They are also asking the court to hold that the NYSC has a duty to conduct comprehensive and credible security risk assessments before deploying corps members to any state or area, and to make such assessments public.
Among the reliefs sought is an order restraining the NYSC and the Attorney-General of the Federation from deploying corps members to the identified high-risk states until peace and adequate security measures are restored.
They are also seeking an order directing the Respondents to establish a transparent mechanism for the redeployment of corps members already serving in such areas.
In the motion signed by John Aikpokpo-Martins, Esq., the Applicants argued that the right to life under Section 33(1) of the Constitution imposes a duty on the State not only to refrain from unlawful killing, but also to take reasonable steps to protect the lives of citizens.
They contended that corps members have, in recent years, suffered kidnappings, violent attacks and killings in parts of the country known to have serious security challenges.
According to them, despite these risks, the NYSC has continued to post corps members to such areas without adequate safeguards, credible security assessments or sufficient insurance protection.
The Applicants maintained that the failure of the authorities to take proactive steps to protect corps members amounts to a breach of the constitutional duty to protect citizens from foreseeable danger.
They stressed that the action is not intended to challenge the NYSC scheme itself, which they described as a noble platform for national integration, but to prevent what they called the reckless exposure of young Nigerian graduates to avoidable danger.
“This action is not against the NYSC scheme itself, which remains a noble platform for national integration,” the Applicants stated. “It is against the reckless exposure of young Nigerian graduates to avoidable death and trauma. The Constitution does not allow the State to gamble with the lives of its citizens in the name of service.”
The matter has been filed before the Warri High Court and is expected to come up for hearing in the coming weeks.
The post “Constitution Does Not Allow State To Gamble With Citizens’ Lives” — Edun SAN, Aikpokpo-Martins Sue NYSC, AGF Over Posting Corps Members To High-Risk States appeared first on TheNigeriaLawyer.
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