Legal Showdown: Deji Adeyanju Takes On Hannatu Musawa Over NYSC-Cabinet Position 

Deji Adeyanju, a prominent advocate for human rights and the Convener of Concerned Nigerians has initiated a legal action against Hannatu Musawa, Minister of Arts, Culture, and Creative Economy. This comes after it was disclosed that Hannatu Musawa is presently a serving member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and at the same time freshly appointed and serving on the advisory team of President Bola Tinubu as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Notable activists who also participated in lodging the lawsuit included Chief Patrick Eholor and Barrister Samuel Ihensekhien. They contended that it is not feasible for Musawa to simultaneously hold the position of an NYSC member and that of a minister within the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

On Wednesday, the three individuals submitted the legal action to challenge the appointment’s legitimacy. They filed the suit under case number FHC/ABJ/CS/1198/2023 at the Federal High Court in Abuja, contesting the validity of Hannatu Musawa’s appointment as a federal minister.

Adeyanju, in a statement accompanied by the court paperwork, emphasized that the Supreme Court’s authoritative ruling in the 2019 Modibbo vs. Usman case has made it unmistakably clear that a Youth Corps member lacks the capability to contest in any Nigerian election or engage in partisan political activities, as is the case with Mrs. Hanaatu Musawa.

Similarly, the statement added that an individual such as Mrs. Hannatu Musawa, who presently holds the position of a federal minister in Nigeria without having fulfilled the mandatory one-year National Youth Service Corps requirement, lacks the eligibility to assume the role of a Minister in accordance with the Constitution. This is due to the fact that the Constitution outlines identical qualifications and disqualifications for both House of Representatives elections and Ministerial appointments.

“The suit is seeking five distinct reliefs and other ancillary/mandatory consequential injunctions in this regard,” the statement added.