Human rights lawyer Femi Falana, along with another legal representative, has filed a lawsuit against the Attorney General of the Federation, the Nigerian Education Minister, the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the attorneys general of the 36 states of the federation, and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
As reported by Dailypost, the legal action is in response to the alarming number of out-of-school children in Nigeria.
In an affidavit submitted to the Federal High Court in Lagos, Falana referred to a recent report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), revealing that at least 20.2 million children in Nigeria are currently out of school—the highest number globally.
The applicants are seeking a court order directing the 4th to 40th respondents to pay the counterpart funds required to access the matching grant of N68 billion in the Account of the Universal Basic Education Fund. They are also requesting compliance with this court order within 30 days of the judgment’s delivery.
The legal team is seeking a declaration from the court that, as per the provisions of Section 2(1) of the Compulsory, Free Universal Basic Education Act (Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004), the respondents are legally obligated to provide free, compulsory, and universal basic education for every Nigerian child of primary and junior secondary school age.
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