The Due Process Advocates International—DPA, has threatened to petition National Judicial Council—NJC, following the controversial judgement delivered by the Judges who presided over Enugu State governorship election petition tribunal.
NewsBand had reported that the three-member tribunal headed by Kudirat Akano, after dismissing the petition lodged by Chijioke Edeoga of the Labour Party–LP, went ahead to affirm Peter Mbah as the duly elected governor of the State despite being entangled in a certificate forgery scandal.
Mr Edeoga had challenged the declaration of Mbah as the winner of the March 18 governorship election.
Before the tribunal affirmed Mbah’s victory, part of the grounds stated in the petition by Edeoga was that Mbah submitted a fake NYSC discharge certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission—INEC.
While Mbah was supposed to undergo one-year mandatory national service between October 2002 and September 2003, he was however, appointed Chief of Staff to former Governor Chimaroke Nnamani on July 10, 2003, and subsequently appointed commissioner for finance under the same administration.
NYSC also declared that the discharge certificate Mbah submitted to INEC was fake.
The founder of Due Process Advocates International, attorney Emeka Ugwuonye, who has been among the vocal voices calling for an investigation into governor Mbah’s alleged forged NYSC, has threatened to petition NJC against judges who affirmed governor Peter Mbah’s victory.
According to Ugwuonye, any investigations into the NYSC certificate debacle in Enugu governorship case must also involve a corruption investigation of the judges involved.
He further noted that there are sufficient indication that the judges were bribed.
Emeka said, “Any judge involved in electoral tribunal cases should submit to asset declaration and investigation. Any investigations into the NYSC certificate debacle in Enugu governorship case must involve a corruption investigation of the judges involved. In fact, we are sending a petition to the NJC against the judges who presided over the tribunal. There are sufficient indication that they were bribed.”
Meanwhile, a group of Civil Society Organsations (CSOs), including the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria—HURIWA and the Patriotic Defenders of National Institutions, have called for a nationwide investigation into the authenticity of National Youth Service Corps—NYSC certificates issued to Enugu State governor, Barrister Peter Mbah, and other individuals holding public offices.
This was contained in a press release issued on Sunday, October 15, and signed by the National Coordinator of HURIWA, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko.
In the statement, the group said that the credibility of these certificates must be verified to maintain public trust and uphold certification integrity.
They said that the call became necessary in light of the controversy surrounding the NYSC certificate of governor Mbah and the outcome of the state governorship election petition tribunal on the matter.
Comrade Onwubiko in the statement on behalf of the groups insisted on a thorough and impartial review of the Enugu State Governorship Petition Tribunal’s judgment to “ensure that justice was served” as “the evidence presented by the NYSC and the allegations of certificate forgery warrant a comprehensive reexamination of the case.”
He said that the revelation from the NYSC allegedly casts serious doubt on the authenticity of the service’s discharge certificate presented by the Governor, thereby raising “significant questions” about his eligibility for the poll