Blessing Omale, Abuja
A Federal High Court in Abuja has directed Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Minister of Interior, to respond to a court filing challenging his application to join a suit seeking to compel the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to disclose records of his national service.
Justice Salim Ibrahim gave the directive on Monday, ordering the minister to file and serve his reply to a counter-affidavit submitted by the applicant, the Incorporated Trustees of Pathway to Equity and Charity Foundation, before the next hearing on November 18, 2026.
The order followed a disagreement over whether Tunji-Ojo should be joined as a party to the suit, which seeks to establish documentary evidence of his participation in the mandatory one-year national youth service scheme.
While the minister’s counsel sought to have him joined as the third respondent, the foundation opposed the application, arguing that he was not a necessary party because the substantive suit seeks to compel the NYSC and FCTA to produce records allegedly in their custody.
The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1812/2026, centres on the foundation’s request for documents relating to the minister’s mobilisation, deployment, attendance, allowances and discharge from the NYSC scheme.
The foundation is asking the court to compel the NYSC to release records supporting the minister’s claim that he completed the mandatory national service. It is also seeking an order of mandamus directing the FCTA to produce documents showing that he served his primary assignment with the administration.
Chief Solomon Akuma, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and counsel to the foundation, told the court that he was ready to proceed with the hearing.
However, Abiola Olaniji, counsel representing the minister, informed the court that he had filed an application seeking to join his client in the proceedings.
Olaniji said the foundation had filed a counter-affidavit raising issues that required a response, adding that he needed time to address the arguments before the court could proceed.
He indicated that the minister was willing to participate in the proceedings as an interested party.
The foundation, however, maintained that the minister’s presence was unnecessary because the reliefs sought were directed at the two institutions expected to hold the relevant records.
Justice Ibrahim subsequently adjourned the matter and directed the minister to respond to the counter-affidavit before the next hearing.
In its application, the foundation is seeking access to a range of documents from the NYSC, including Tunji-Ojo’s mobilisation or call-up letter issued in 2006 or any other year, his posting letter to the FCTA, and his application for mobilisation.
It also wants the corps to provide evidence that the Director-General approved his remobilisation, records of allowances paid to him, his corps member’s “book of life”, his Community Development Service records and his discharge certificate.
The foundation is separately asking the FCTA to produce its copies of the mobilisation and posting letters, attendance records for the service year, evidence of allowances paid to the minister and records of his Community Development Service.
The requested documents are expected to help establish the circumstances surrounding his initial mobilisation, subsequent posting and eventual discharge from the scheme.
The action was brought under Section 14 of the Federal High Court Act, Order 34 Rules 1, 2 and 5 of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2019, and Sections 20, 21 and 25 of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act 2011.
The suit followed an order granted by Justice Ibrahim on October 5, 2026, granting the foundation leave to commence the proceedings.
The foundation is relying on the FoI Act to seek access to the records, arguing that the public institutions should disclose the information requested through its solicitors.
In a 25-paragraph affidavit, Uchenna Ejimafor, chairman of the foundation’s Board of Trustees, described the organisation as a non-governmental group involved in exposing corruption, bribery and abuse of office in public and private institutions.
Ejimafor said the minister had presented himself publicly as having completed the mandatory one-year national service and undertaken his primary assignment with the FCTA in 2006 or another year.
However, he claimed that the foundation’s discreet investigation indicated that Tunji-Ojo did not serve with the FCTA in 2006 or any other year.
According to the affidavit, the foundation subsequently instructed its solicitors to request the relevant documents from the NYSC and the FCTA to verify the findings of its investigation.
The foundation alleged that the institutions failed, refused or neglected to provide the requested records.
It argued that the FoI Act requires public institutions to respond to information requests within seven days and maintained that the records would not be made available without an order compelling their disclosure.
The foundation is therefore asking the court to intervene and direct the two institutions to produce the documents needed to verify the minister’s service history.
The allegations contained in the affidavit remain claims by the applicant, and the substantive proceedings are intended to determine the request for the records. The court’s latest directive concerns the minister’s application to join the suit and does not determine whether he completed the national service scheme.
The controversy surrounding Tunji-Ojo’s NYSC records had previously drawn a response from the corps in a letter dated August 8, 2023, signed by Fasakin B. A. on behalf of the Director-General.
In the letter, the NYSC stated that the minister was mobilised in 2006 and deployed to the Federal Capital Territory but subsequently absconded from the scheme.
According to the corps, he resurfaced in 2019, after which he was remobilised and posted to the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) for his primary assignment.
The NYSC explained that his certificate was unavailable during the passing-out parade because his name had been omitted from the certificate-printing application.
It further stated that Tunji-Ojo applied for the certificate through the FCT State Coordinator on October 18, 2022, and that the application was subsequently forwarded to the NYSC headquarters.
The corps said Certificate No. A004523631 was produced on February 28, 2023, and made available for collection.
The earlier NYSC account provides an institutional explanation of the minister’s service history, including the reported initial mobilisation, his subsequent absence, remobilisation and the processing of his discharge certificate.
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