Falana asks court to compel FG, states to provide free primary, junior secondary education
Activist and lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, has asked a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos to compel the federal government, the 36 states of the federation and Abuja to provide free and compulsory education up to junior secondary school level in the country
Falana and his co-plaintiff, Hauwa Mustapha, filed the suit for themselves and on behalf of the Alliance on Surviving Covid 19 and Beyond, ASCAB
The 40 defendants/respondents are Attorney-General of the Federation, Minister of Education and Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, Attorneys-General of the 36 states, and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The plaintiffs are praying the court to declare “that by virtue of section 2(1) of the Compulsory, Free Universal Basic Education Act, 2004, the respondents were legally obligated to provide free, compulsory and Universal basic education for every Nigerian child of primary and junior secondary, school age.
They also want the court to declare “that by virtue of section 11(1) of the Compulsory Free Universal Basic Education Act, the Federal Government shall contribute a block grant of not less than two percent of its Consolidated Revenue Fund to the Universal Basic Education Fund on an annual basis
