Court rules the NYSC should “recall affected former corps members and issue their certificates”
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
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The Judge awarded ₦500,000 in damages to each applicant for the violation of their fundamental rights.
Although both applicants had sought ₦10 million in damages, the court considered ₦500,000 to be adequate in the circumstances.
The judgment stressed that denying the applicants the opportunity to complete their national service due to their attire amounted to religious discrimination.
“The actions of the respondents resulted in the applicants being embarrassed and humiliated. This is a blatant infringement of their fundamental rights.”
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Female participants in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) who choose to wear skirts in observance of their religious beliefs are to be allowed to do so, a court has ruled, declaring the ban unconstitutional and a breach of the fundamental right to freedom of religion.
From the inception of the NYSC in 1973, male members wore trousers and female skirts, and that was the practice for years until the scheme tampered with the policy without consideration for religious beliefs or the choice of women of natural female apparel.
The Federal High Court in Abuja gave the judgment on June 13 but its certified true copy (CTC) was only made available at the weekend, in which Judge Hauwa Yilwa held that the enforcement of the NYSC of trousers as the only acceptable uniform for female participants violated the constitutionally guaranteed rights to freedom of religion and human dignity.
Two lawsuits initially filed separately by two female former corps members, Blessing Ogunjobi and Vivian Ayuba, were later consolidated due to their legal similarities and adjudicated together by Yilwa.
In the suits, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/989/2020 and FHC/ABJ/CS/988/2020, the applicants argued that being compelled to wear trousers contradict their Christian faith, citing Deuteronomy 22:5 which prohibits women from wearing apparel associated with men.
The applicants sought enforcement of their fundamental rights to freedom of religion, saying these rights were violated by the respondents – the NYSC and its Director General.
Their applications were brought pursuant to Order 11, Rules 1–5 of the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009; Sections 38 and 42 of the Constitution; Articles 2, 5, 6, 8, 10, 17, and 19 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights; and under the inherent jurisdiction of the court.
They sought the following reliefs:
- “A declaration that the refusal of the NYSC to recognise and allow skirts as part of the NYSC uniform constitutes a breach of the applicants’ right under Section 38(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as well as Deuteronomy 22:5 of the Bible, and a misinterpretation of Schedule 2, Article 1(I)(a) of the NYSC Bye-Laws 1993.
- “A declaration that the use of skirts by the applicants in the NYSC scheme forms part of [their] fundamental rights to freedom of religion and to manifest the same in practice and observance as provided for in Section 38(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
- “A declaration that the harassment, embarrassment, and humiliation suffered by the applicants at the hands of NYSC officials constitute a clear infringement of [their] rights to freedom of religion and to manifest same in practice, as well as the right to human dignity and protection from degrading treatment.
- “An order compelling the respondents, their servants, agents, privies, or anyone acting on their behalf, to recognise, allow, and provide skirts for the applicants or any female corps member wishing to wear same in accordance with Section 38(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Deuteronomy 22:5.”
- ₦10 million in damages and any such further order(s) as the court may deem fit to make in the circumstances.
The court held that the insistence of the NYSC on women having to wear trousers infringed on the applicants’ right to manifest their religion under Section 38(1) of the Constitution and also subjected them to undue harassment and degrading treatment.
The Judge granted all the reliefs sought by the applicants and issued identical orders in both cases:
- “A declaration that the refusal to allow skirts for religious purposes is unconstitutional.
- “An order mandating the NYSC to recognise and permit the use of skirts for female corps members with genuine religious objections.
- “A directive compelling the NYSC to recall the affected former corps members and issue their certificates accordingly.”
- The harassment, embarrassment, and humiliation suffered by the applicants at the hands of NYSC officials constituted a clear infringement of their fundamental rights to religion and freedom to practise it.
The Judge awarded ₦500,000 in damages to each applicant for the violation of their fundamental rights.
Although both applicants had sought ₦10 million in damages, the court considered ₦500,000 to be adequate in the circumstances.
The judgment stressed that denying the applicants the opportunity to complete their national service due to their attire amounted to religious discrimination.
“The actions of the respondents resulted in the applicants being embarrassed and humiliated. This is a blatant infringement of their fundamental rights,” Yilwa said.
Baba Ahmad with K.A. Lawal represented the applicants and J.E. Okpe appeared for the respondents.
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