The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has extended the service year of corps member Rita Ushie, popularly known as Raye on Instagram, by two months as p¥nishment for publicly criticising President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Raye, who had just one month left in her service, gained national attention in March after posting a viral video on TikTok lamenting Nigeria’s worsening economic conditions and describing the Tinubu-led government as “terrible.” She also alleged that NYSC officials thre@tened her and demanded she take down the video.
The incident sparked outrage among civil rights groups and Nigerians who condemned the NYSC’s response as an attack on freedom of expression.
Following the backlash, Raye was summoned by the NYSC Local Government Inspector to the Eti-Osa office in Lagos. However, when she arrived with her legal team and activist Omoyele Sowore, the official who issued the summons was reportedly absent. The matter soon faded from public discourse.
But on June 18, she was again summoned—this time to the NYSC orientation camp in Iyana Ipaja, Lagos—to face a disciplinary panel. After repeated delays and without a formal notice, she was eventually informed that her service year had been extended by two months as a sanction.
Jonathan Ugbal, South-South Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, said Raye was deeply upset by the decision. “Her mother called me, saying she was crying on the phone after being told of the extension. She’s not in the right frame of mind to speak right now,” he disclosed.
Ugbal also revealed that despite her limited financial resources, Raye traveled to the camp as instructed and even offered an apology to staff members who felt embarrassed by the public backlash.
Raye’s initial video, shared via her TikTok account @talktoraye, featured her in tears, expressing frustration over the rising cost of living in Nigeria. She claimed that her earnings could no longer cover basic expenses and accused the government of ignoring the plight of ordinary citizens.
Peoplesmind
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