Temitope Ajayi, President Bola Tinubu’s media aide, says the corps member who called his principal a “terrible” leader deserves to be executed by hanging or firing squad.

Ushie ‘Raye’ Uguamaye, the corper, had in a recent TikTok post. Ms Uguamaye is serving in Lagos.

The presidential aide was not pleased with what Ms Uguamaye said and called for her head because she is a corps member.

“If she is not a corper, she can say whatever she fancies like people do per second. Citizens can abuse a living day out of their President or any public official. It is normal,” Mr Ajayi stated on Facebook on Monday. “But a corper violated her oath and code of conduct here. That is capital punishment under NYSC.”

He added, “You can’t abuse the country you are serving as a corper under any guise and the symbol of sovereign authority, which is the president. She should be punished to the fullest extent, not just warned.”

Meanwhile, Inibehe Effiong, a human rights lawyer, has come to the defence of the corps member.

“Criticising the president or the government is not an offence under the NYSC Act (See Section 13). It is also not an offence under the NYSC Bye-Laws (See Section 4 of the Revised Bye-Laws, 2011),” stated the lawyer.

Mr Effiong added, “I have watched all the videos of this lady that are being debated. There is nothing slightly partisan in her comments.”

The rights lawyer noted that Ms Uguamaye “merely expressed her justified frustrations with the state of affairs in the country, particularly the impact of the scourging” inflation on her and other Nigerians.

“That is within her constitutional right to freedom of expression as guaranteed by Section 39 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended),” Mr Effiong explained.

Amnesty International, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi have condemned attempts to silence critics of the incumbent president, including intimidation of Ms Uguamaye.

“I am coming from a supermarket where I went to get foodstuff, and everything has gone up again,” Ms  Uguamaye had said in a TikTok video. “It’s just like every single week, prices keep increasing. I want to know, what is the government doing about this increase?” 

“If a lot of Nigerians come out and start speaking about what we are going through, maybe changes will be made in the government. I don’t know if there is any other president that is as terrible as you (Mr Tinubu). But you (Mr Tinubu) are such a terrible president,” added Ms  Uguamaye.