Corps Member Who Called President ‘Terrible’ Deserves Death – Tinubu’s Aide

A media aide to President Bola Tinubu has sparked outrage after suggesting a corps member deserves the death penalty for criticising the president. Temitope Ajayi, writing on Facebook, said Ushie ‘Raye’ Uguamaye, a serving corps member in Lagos, should be executed by hanging or firing squad for calling Mr Tinubu a “terrible president” in a TikTok video.

Ajayi argued that while ordinary citizens can freely criticise public officials, corps members are held to a higher standard under the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) code. “If she is not a corper, she can say whatever she fancies like people do per second… But a corper violated her oath and code of conduct here. That is capital punishment under NYSC,” he wrote. He further insisted that Ms Uguamaye had insulted the “symbol of sovereign authority” and should face the full weight of disciplinary action.

In the video that triggered the backlash, Ms Uguamaye expressed frustration over the rising cost of living, stating: “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 is the government doing about this increase?” She concluded by describing Mr Tinubu as “such a terrible president,” prompting Ajayi’s harsh response.

Human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong has defended the corps member, pointing out that her remarks are protected under Nigerian law. “Criticising the president or the government is not an offence under the NYSC Act,” said Effiong. He added that her comments fall within the bounds of freedom of expression as guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution.

Effiong also noted that the NYSC Bye-Laws do not criminalise criticism of public officials and described Ms Uguamaye’s statements as a legitimate reaction to economic hardship. “She merely expressed her justified frustrations with the state of affairs in the country,” he said.

The incident has drawn further condemnation from civil society groups and opposition figures, including Amnesty International, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and Labour Party’s Peter Obi, who have all denounced the growing trend of silencing government critics through intimidation.