Veno Jerryman
The Federal High Court in Abuja has imposed a 5 million Naira fine on the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for falsely alleging that the NYSC discharge certificate of Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State was fake. The judgment, delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo, unequivocally vindicated Governor Mbah and found both the Director General of NYSC and the defendants guilty of misinterpreting material facts.
Justice Ekwo’s verdict firmly declared that Governor Mbah’s certificate, presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), was authentic and validly issued by the NYSC. The evidence presented before the court established that Governor Mbah was indeed mobilized for service in 2001 and completed his service in 2003.
Crucially, the court also highlighted that Governor Mbah, with due permission from the NYSC, temporarily left service to attend the Nigeria Law School and was subsequently reinstated into the NYSC in 2003.
Furthermore, the judge criticized the NYSC for failing to charge Governor Mbah with forgery if they genuinely believed that the discharge certificate had not been issued by the NYSC. This omission raised serious questions about the NYSC’s conduct in the matter.
In his concluding remarks, Justice Ekwo asserted that the NYSC had acted in a mischievous and bad faith manner by denying Governor Mbah’s NYSC certificate.
The legal battle began when Governor Mbah sued the NYSC and its Director, Corps Certification, Mr. Ibrahim Muhammad, for publishing a disclaimer that denied the issuance of his discharge certificate, dated January 6, 2003. In May, the court had issued a restraining order against the NYSC and its agents, prohibiting them from making such publications pending the resolution of the case.
However, the NYSC responded with a preliminary objection, filed in May, seeking the dismissal of the suit on the grounds of jurisdiction and competence. They argued that an appeal to the president was a prerequisite for initiating legal action against the defendants.
The NYSC contended that Governor Mbah’s failure to comply with the provisions of Section 20 of the National Youth Service Corps Act made the lawsuit premature.
On February 1, the NYSC had written a letter, signed by Mr. Ibrahim Muhammad, asserting that the NYSC certificate in question did not belong to Governor Mbah.
Governor Mbah, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was declared the winner of the Enugu state governorship election held on March 18 by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
