The NYSC management threatened to sanction any corps members who partook in the protests.
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) issued a warning to serving corps members, advising them against participating in the #FearlessInOctober protests held on October 1, 2024, SaharaReporters has learnt.
The NYSC management threatened to sanction any corps members who partook in the protests.
This warning was circulated on social media platforms, emphasising that corps members are prohibited from engaging in any political activities, including protests and demonstrations.
According to the NYSC management, the restriction is based on the laws governing the NYSC scheme, specifically Section 14 of the NYSC Act, which bars corps members from participating in political or religious activities.
It is worth noting that this isn't the first time NYSC has issued such a warning. Previously, they cautioned corps members against participating in the #EndBadGovernanceinNigeria protests held between August 1 and 10, 2024, citing the same laws and regulations.
The NYSC management made it clear that corps members should not be involved in the October protests against economic hardship, rising cost of living, bad governance among others.
The warning sent by the NYSC management to its Local Government Inspectors (LGIs) reads in part: “Attention To All Zonal N Local Government Inspectors. Pls Not That On No Account Should Any Corps Members Participate In The Planned October First Riots. There Monthly Allowance Have Been Increased By The Federal Government N Payment Will Be Made Soon. Any Corps Members That Fails (sic) To Abide By The Above Will Be Sanctioned. MGT.”
The same warning was passed down to corps members in a message that reads: “Attention To All Corps Members. Pls Note That On No Account Should Any Corps Members Participated In The Plan (sic) October First Riots.
“There Monthly Allowance Have Been Increased By The Federal Government N Pay Will Be Made Soon.
“Any Corps Members That Fails (sic) To Abide By The Above Will Be Sanctioned. MGT.”
Corps members, who spoke to SaharaReporters via phone, corroborated the information.
A corps member serving in Maiduguri, Borno State, said: “We were warned not to join the protest and the management is very serious. They threatened to sanction any corps members that defy their orders.”
“This is why many of the corps members, who are mostly youths, did not participate. And as you can see, it affected the protests because the turnout was low,” the corps member added.
Thousands of Nigerians across the country including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on Tuesday morning joined the #FearlessInOctober protests against the hardship that the President Bola Tinubu’s policies had unleashed on them.
SaharaReporters observed protesters chanting “We are hungry” as they marched in Abuja.
Some of the banners displayed read, “Bad Governance has ended the dreams of Nigerian youths, end it now” and “Enough is Enough – Revolution Now.”
“We are buying fuel N1,000 and you expect us not to come out and protest. What are we saying – we are hungry,” one of the protesters said.
Human rights activist and convener of #RevolutionNow Movement, Comrade Omoyele Sowore, had invited Nigerians across the country to join the protests against worsening hardship, hunger, unemployment, insecurity, and poverty under Tinubu’s government.
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