By Okey Ude
Anyone who is worried, surprised or bothered about the recent compromised, contemptuous, unguarded, sub-judice statement of the newly appointed Director General of National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) on the genuineness or authenticity of the Enugu State Governor elect, Dr. Bar. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah ‘s NYSC discharge certificate has no knowledge of the conspiracy of the military and its alliance with the Labour Party governorship candidate, Bar. Chijioke Edeoga, his in-laws, the Nwodos, other top serving and retired military personnel from Enugu North Senatorial zone in the election eventually won by Mbah against all odds..
The unconstitutional, conspiratorial and compromised roles and involvements of the military personnel led by former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s son in the military, who was made Garrison Commander Brigade of 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Enugu, two weeks to the elections, alongside Major General Victor Ezeugwu, Nwodos’ kinsman from Ukehe, and others were well documented, reported and published widely by the media.
While the evidence-laden reports of conspiracies of some top retired and serving military personnel in Mbah’s elections has ruffled feathers in the military circle, none of those involved and reported by the media has denied it, instead they have continued to conspire and connive with some of their boys in the military to take their own pound of flesh from Mbah without considering the consequences of such on their profession and institutions they are manning.
One such pawn of Edeoga and the military conspirators against Mbah at the expense of denigrating the NYSC as institution is the Director General of the NYSC, Brigadier General, YD Ahmed. Before him was the about- to-retire Director of Corps Certification, Ibrahim Mohammed, who first hurriedly issued a disclaimer on the prompt of Bar. Edeoga’s hatchet men without due diligence saying the Mbah’s NYSC certificate is not from them.
Mohammed, acting a written script after being compromised and knowing that he is due for retirement soon issued another disclaimer to that effect, despite the fact that there was a subsisting court judgment delivered on March 8, 2023 by an FCT High Court Abuja in Suit No. FCT/HC/2399/2023 exonerating Mbah of forgery of NYSC certificate.
Having seen that Mbah has sued NYSC for damages amounting to N20b, meaning that he is determined to take the case to any length to obtain justice, the NYSC DG who was before now apologetic of his agency’s misdemeanor against Mbah without due diligence, came out in a live television interview to recklessly, shamelessly and ignorantly dismiss Mbah’s certificate in a manner that is not befitting of a man of his position or status.
The NYSC shameless told blatant lies before the entire nation on live television when he claimed to have told Mbah during his visit to the NYSC headquarters that his discharge certificate was not issued by the body, saying that he knew everything about the case.
For the record, DG Ahmed’s appointment by President Muhammed Buhari was announced on January 29, 2023, while he assumed the next day. He was therefore barely one week in office when Mbah visited on February 7, 2023. It was at that meeting that he apologetically denied knowledge of the Director’s letter disclaiming Mbah’s certificate, explaining he was still new office.
It should be noted that Mbah had promptly submitted a petition to the NYSC DG dated February 6, 2023 wherein he appealed that the matter by “thoroughly investigated and persons found culpable be prosecuted accordingly”, and was promised an expeditious response. But rather than a reply, the NYSC Director of Corps Certification issued yet another disclaimer on April 18, 2023, leaving Dr Mbah with no other option than litigation against the NYSC.
How can the DG of NYSC deny knowledge of the suit against his agency by Mbah, when there are overwhelming evidences that his agency had been duly served court processes to that effect five days before the said TV interview?
How can the DG come on air to speak on a matter that is before the court, thereby committing contempt of the court? Did the DG think that Nigeria is still under the jackboot military rule or that Nigerians are military personnel under his command that he can address or dismiss anyhow on air?
How can the DG usurp the power of the legal department of the NYSC? Or does it mean NYSC has no legal department or anybody in charge of their legal matters?
At this point and in a matter like this, it is expected that the legal department or the person in charge of the legal department should take charge and not the DG. So curious and surprising is the sudden move by Bar. Edeoga to be joined in Mbah’s suit against the NYSC. Why the move and in whose interest? Is it not a case of the owl cried in the night and the child died in the morning?
Well, the matter is already before the court and cannot be determined or dismissed by DG’s reckless and unguarded statement on Arise television or Mohammed’s compromised disclaimers. That is not an evidence or enough evidence to determine the case. Obviously, there are more to DG’s outburst than meets the eyes.
The haste and manner the DG appeared and spoke about the matter is clearly suspicious and conspiratorial. The NYSC should be prepared to meet Mbah in the court, where the certificate in question will be subjected to forensic analysis by relevant security
agencies and experts to ascertain the authenticity of it and where it emanated from.
If at the end, it is established that the certificate was printed by the Nigeria Security Printing and Minting Company Plc for NYSC that handed it over to Mbah at the completion of his one year youth service programme, NYSC especially the DG should be ready to pay Mbah for damages and apologise to him publicly.
The retiring Director of Corps Certification, NYSC, Ibrahim Mohammed, if found wanting or guilty of compromise must be brought to book even after retirement. His case should not be treated like that of the staff of Federal Ministry of Justice that was compromised and deceived by Bar. Edeoga and his cohorts with fake documents on the ex-convict saga against Mbah, which he used to mislead the Attorney General of the Federationand Ministerof Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) who upon discovery tendered unreserved apology letter to Mbah through his counsel.
