Court chastises NYSC over validity of Gov Mbah’s certificate, awards N5m against corps

Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed that the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate of Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State is real and was legitimately issued by the service.

Justice Ekwo rendered a decision on Monday, stating that the information presented to the court demonstrated that the governor had been called into duty in 2001 but had only finished it in 2003.

The court stated that Mbah applied for and was reinstated for the NYSC in 2003 after requesting and obtaining permission from the organisation midway during his service to attend the Nigeria Law School.

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While the NYSC did not contest the evidence that Mbah worked for one Udeh legal company, Justice Ekwo chastised the corps for failing to prosecute the governor for forgery if they truly thought that they had not given him the aforementioned NYSC certificate.

He concluded that the NYSC was mischievous and acted in bad faith by denying Mbah’s NYSC certificate.

The court which found the Director General and the NYSC guilty of misrepresentation of material facts, subsequently awarded the sum of N5 million damages against them.

Mbah had sued the NYSC and its Director, Corps Certification, Mr Ibrahim Muhammad, for publishing a disclaimer, denying the issuance of a discharge certificate issued to him on Jan.6, 2003.

Justice Ekwo, on May 15, restrained the NYSC, Muhammad and any of their agents from, henceforth, engaging in such publication pending the hearing and determination of the substantive matter.

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