A civic group has sued the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) over the ‘exemption certificate’ being used by the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) had earlier made a freedom of information request to the NYSC seeking details of the certificate paraded by Mrs. Adeosun.
The civic group has now sued the NYSC when the latter refused to honour the FOI demand.
SERAP sued the Director-General, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Sule Kazaure, and the NYSC over “failure to publish specific documents and information on Minister of Finance, Mrs.
Kemi Adeosun’s application for NYSC exemption, and seeking to compel them to explain if Adeosun obtained any Exemption Certificate from the NYSC.”
In the suit number FHC/L/ CS/1369/18 filed Tuesday at the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, SERAP is seeking “an order for leave to apply for judicial review and an order of mandamus directing and/or compelling General Kazaure and the NYSC to urgently provide specific documents and information on Mrs. Kemi Adeosun’s application to the NYSC for Exemption and to publish widely including on a dedicated and on the NYSC website, any such information.”
The suit followed SERAP’s Freedom of Information request dated August 2 to Mr. Kazaure, giving him seven days to provide “information on specific details and documents on the Exemption Certificate applied for and obtained by Mrs. Adeosun; clarify whether the NYSC actuallygranted her the Exemption Certificate and if it did, the circumstances and the provisions of the NYSC Act under which the Exemption Certificate was granted.” The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its counsel, Bamisope Adeyanju, read in part: “Suspicions of obtaining unauthorised certificate involving a senior member of the government if not urgently and satisfactorily addressed would weaken public trust in the government’s oft-expressed commitment to transparency and accountability.
