NYSC, citizenship by birth and foreign-born Nigerians

The fake NYSC exemption Certificate tendered by the immediate past Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun has been construed (and at times, misconstrued) by a number of public commentators – including, I admit, my humble self. I believe that the issue simply boils down to the position of the law at any given time. This […]

The fake NYSC exemption Certificate tendered by the immediate past Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun has been construed (and at times, misconstrued) by a number of public commentators – including, I admit, my humble self. I believe that the issue simply boils down to the position of the law at any given time. This is because, citizenship by birth is a constitutional issue. Section 25(1)(c) of the 1999 Constitution contains that provision, but it only came into effect on 29th of May 1999, by which time, Mrs. Adeosun became ineligible to serve under the NYSC Act, because she was over 30 (she was born in 1967).

The obvious question is whether a similar provision existed under any prior law, that is, between 1989 when she graduated from a university in the UK and 1997, when turned 30, and became exempt as aforesaid. If such a provision was contained in the previous Constitution, (that of 1979), it depends on whether it remained extant, notwithstanding the suspension of the rest of the Constitution in 1984, under the Constitution (Suspension and Modification) Decree enacted by the then Gen. Buhari.

If it did not, unless another law which was in force at all material times contained such a provision, those provisions of the1999 Constitution which so enact do not have retrospective effect, and thus cannot apply to children born abroad to Nigerian parents before the  29th May, 1999, as aforesaid. In other words, Mrs. Adeosun would not have been eligible to serve in the NYSC Scheme – and thus, need not have bothered to procure the exemption.

Is it too late? It depends on whether the appropriate court to try the infraction – the National Industrial Court, in my view – is competent to apply the provisions of the NYSC Act. Curiously, by virtue of Section 254F(92) of the 1999 Constitution, I believe that she might yet be granted a reprieve, as that court can only apply the provisions of, inter alia, the Criminal Code and the Penal Code (applicable in Abuja, where the forged Certificate was uttered – at the National Assembly). This brings up the whole issue of jurisdiction of courts, which is a topic for another day.

Barrister Abubakar D. Sani, Kano.