Falana Drags Tinubu’s Govt, 36 States to Court Over Out-of-school Children Issue

Human Rights Activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has taken legal action against the Federal Government, the Minister of Education, the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), and all 36 states of the federation in relation to the issue of out-of-school children in the country.

VOP News understands that Falana, along with an expert in early childhood education, filed the lawsuit on behalf of themselves and the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond, represented by Hauwa Mustapha.

The lawsuit is centred around the failure to utilize the N68 billion funds allocated by the Universal Basic Education Commission to provide free basic education for every Nigerian child of school age.

Additionally, the Attorneys General of all 36 states and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, have been named as respondents in the lawsuit, which was filed by Funmi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, acting as their legal representative.

In a sworn affidavit submitted by Femi Falana at the Federal High Court Registry in Lagos on January 26, 2024, the esteemed attorney highlighted that the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) recently disclosed a report.

This report revealed a staggering estimation of 20.2 million out-of-school children in Nigeria.

Falana further emphasized that the report also indicated that one out of every three children in the country is deprived of education, making Nigeria the nation with the highest number of out-of-school children globally