Excitement as Federal High Court orders NYSC to allow female corps members to wear skirts A Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the Nation...

 Excitement as Federal High Court orders NYSC to allow female corps members to wear skirts

A Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to allow female corps members to wear skirts as part of their official uniform.

The court determined that the former policy forbidding skirts was unlawful and discriminatory.

Justice Hauwa Joseph Yilwa remarked in her decision that the NYSC's emphasis on trousers as the only acceptable apparel for female corps members breached their constitutionally guaranteed rights to religious freedom and human dignity.

Two former corps members, Ogunjobi John Blessing and Ayuba Vivian, brought the case after they were denied discharge certificates for refusing to wear trousers during their service year. The court later merged their previously distinct lawsuits into a single case.

In her decision, Justice Yilwa stated: "The refusal of the NYSC to recognise and allow skirt as part of its uniform is a breach of their right as contained in Section 38(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) as well as Deuteronomy 22 v 5 of the Bible."


The court granted the plaintiffs N10 million in damages after the NYSC violated their rights.

One of the claimants, Ayuba, a Microbiology graduate from Kaduna State University (2018), was assigned to Zamfara State for her service year but refused to wear the provided trousers, citing religious convictions.

In its defence, the NYSC noted that corps members sign an agreement to follow the program's standards, which include wearing a standardised uniform to encourage discipline and consistency.

However, the court ruled that imposing a trousers-only requirement on female corps members violates their fundamental human rights and cannot overrule constitutionally protected religious liberties.