Amnesty International has condemned officials of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for allegedly threatening a corps member for criticising the President Bola Tinubu administration over rising inflation and economic hardship.

The human rights organisation said said rather than threaten the female corps member, the authorities “should be prioritizing addressing the country’s economic woes”.

The corps member who is serving in Lagos State had, in a video that has been widely circulated, tackled the Tinubu government over the frustrating economic climate that Nigerians have had to face.

“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 just want to say to our president, I don’t know if there is any other president that is as terrible as you, but you are such a terrible president,” said the corps member identified as @talktoraye on TikTok.

“So, I am coming from a supermarket where I went to get foodstuff, and everything has gone up again. It’s just like every single week, prices keep increasing. I want to know, what is the government doing about this increase? Is there going to be a particular time when prices will stop going up? Why am I going to get a crate of eggs and I’m told it costs N6,500? It doesn’t make any sense that eggs would cost that much. I literally remember when eggs cost N800. I am so overwhelmed because this is the first time I’ve stayed out of my family house.

“After I left the supermarket, I got home, and the security and NEPA bills have skyrocketed, doubling in price. It is insane. I can’t keep up with these bills. Every single penny I make, I am using it to pay bills. The crazy thing is, you want to go out with your friend, and Uber is N25,000. Why are things so expensive?” she queried in the video.

After the first video went viral, the corps member made another video claiming she was receiving threat messages from NYSC officials for criticising the Tinubu administration.

In the video in which she was receiving calls from an NYSC official, the official could be heard saying, “Are you normal? Keep quiet and bring down the video you posted.”

Reacting to this development, Amnesty International said it is perfectly within the right of the corps member to express discontent peacefully.

“Instead of threatening her for her opinions on rampant inflation, the authorities should be prioritizing addressing the country’s economic woes,” Amnesty International said in a post on X.

“Millions of people in Nigeria are facing extreme poverty. So far, the authorities have failed to put in place effective mitigation measures, leaving millions of people without the hope of getting out of the economic challenges and enjoying their human rights.

“The Nigerian authorities must stop responding with violence and threats to individuals and groups who express dissenting opinions — in utter disregard for Nigerian constitution and international law. Holding and voicing dissenting views is not a crime,” it said.