The Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Oluseye Nafiu has called on the Scheme’s Legal Officers to uphold integrity and operate within the regulatory framework of Nigeria’s Freedom of Information Act.
He made the call while addressing the officers during the opening ceremony of the 2026 NYSC Legal Officers Capacity Enhancement Training on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Cybercrimes Act held in Abuja, Nigeria’s Capital.
General Nafiu noted that the FOIA is a very critical document in public administration, which mandates institutions to avail the public of vital information on request.
He acknowledged that the theme of the workshop “Building Institution resilience through legal excellence and digital compliance”, was timely and underscored the importance of transparency in carrying out government business.
Furthermore, he emphasised that data issues are very sensitive, and the NYSC is regularly inundated with requests to release sensitive information about records of ex-Corps Members from employers and other categories of organisations or persons, which requires the legal officers to be up-to-date with the regulatory framework of the FOIA.
READ ALSO: NYSC DG Urges Employers to Offer Meaningful Jobs
The Director-General therefore enjoined the workshop participants to always give sound legal guidance and professional interpretation of the law to the Management.
In his welcome address, the Director, Legal Services of the NYSC, Christopher Ogar said that Legal Officers needed to be proactive, knowledgeable and responsive in the wake of cybersecurity threats and rapidly evolving technological advancements.
Ogar also noted that the Scheme works within a dynamic legal and administrative environment. Therefore, the role of Legal Officers extends beyond providing legal guidance to their principals.
Speaking further, he said Legal Officers were expected to comply with extant laws, advise management appropriately, manage litigations effectively, draft sound legal documents and promote accountability in all operations.
He concluded that so much knowledge would be imparted in FOIA, Cybercrime, Data privacy and other emerging issues that would make service delivery much easier for the Legal Officers.
The Director Legal further said, according to the FOIA Act, 2011, Corps Members as well as parents are entitled to request information about NYSC operations, and Legal Officers must know what to release, what to exempt and the timeliness.
He called on participants to understand how to identify reports and preserve evidence in cybercrime involving Corps Members as well as the implementation of such principles in daily schedules from registration to passing-out exercise.
Resource persons were drawn from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Federal Ministry of Justice and private data analysts.
