Court bars NYSC from tagging Gov. Mbah’s certificate as fake

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday made an order of perpetual injunction restraining the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) from further disclaiming the certificate of national service number A808297 issued to Gov. Peter Mbah of Enugu State.

Justice Inyang Ekwo, in a judgement, also awarded N5 million in damages against the NYSC for alleging that the corps’ discharged certificate held by Gov. Mbah was fake.

Justice Ekwo held that the NYSC and its Director, Corps Certification, Mr. Ibrahim Muhammad, who were defendants in the suit, were guilty of misrepresentation of material facts.

The judge equally held that the certificate presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by Mbah was authentic and validly issued by the NYSC.

He further held that evidence before the court showed that the governor though was mobilised for service in 2001, he, however, completed his service in 2003.

According to the court, Mbah, midway into his service, sought and after received permission from NYSC to attend the Nigeria Law School, was reinstated into the NYSC in 2003.

Besides, the judge said that while the evidence that Mbah served in the law firm of one Udeh was not challenged by the NYSC, he berated the corps for not charging the governor for forgery if they actually believed that they didn’t issue the said NYSC certificate to him.

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

Supreme News reports that 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 January 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.

The order followed an ex parte motion moved by Mbah’s counsel, Mr Emeka Ozoani, SAN.

But the NYCS, in its preliminary objection dated May 19 and filed May 22, sought an order dismissing or striking out the suit for want of jurisdiction and competence.

Giving three grounds of argument, the corps said that Mbah did not appeal to the president as required by the provisions of Section 20 of the National Youth Service Corps Act, Cap N84, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 before instituting the suit against the defendants.

It argued that appeal to the president was a condition-precedent to instituting an action against the defendants in any court of law in Nigeria.

According to the NYSC, consequent upon the refusal of the plaintiff/respondent to comply with the provisions of Section 20 of the National Youth Service Corps Act, this suit is premature for the jurisdiction of the court to crystalise.

The NYSC had, on Feb. 1, written a letter signed by Mr Ibrahim Muhammed saying that the NYSC certificate belonging to Mbah was not issued by the corps.

Delivering the judgement, Justice Ekwo held that the evidence tendered by the defendants was irrelevance to the subject matter of the case.

“Upon assessing the case of the defendants, it thus appears to me that they have handled their case with levity or that they lacked the willpower to challenge the case of the plaintiff,” he said.

The judge also observed that Justice Binta Mohammed of an FCT High Court, in a judgement on March 8, in a suit marked FCT/HC/2399/2023 filed by the Registered Trustees of the Peoples Wellbeing Association against the governor, held that Mbah did not forge his NYSC certificate.

He said that though the NYSC and its director, Corps Certification, were not parties in the case, Ekwo stated that “civil suits are decided on the preponderance of evidence.”

“The principle requires that the totality of the evidence of both sides be taken into account and appraised in determining each side’s quantum.

“Upon doing that, it is the party whose evidence is heavier that succeeds in the case,” he said.

According to him, I find that the case of the plaintiff succeeds on merit, and I so hold.

The judge, therefore, declared that Mbah participated in the NYSC scheme for one calendar year via a call-up letter number: FRN/2001/800351; Lagos code: LA/01/1532, and upon completion, a certificate of National Service No. A808297 was issued.

He declared that “the defendants conspired by fraudulent design, suppressed, and misrepresented facts in the supposition that the plaintiff’s certificate of national service with certificate number A808297 was not issued by the defendants, a fact they knew or ought to know as untrue and incorrect, which act constitutes the tort of conspiracy.”

Justice Ekwo, consequently, made an order that Mbah’s “certificate of National Service No. A808297 is authentic and was validly issued by the second defendant.

“An order of perpetual injunction is hereby made restraining the defendants, either jointly or separately, their officers and servants in whatever manner and however called, from disclaiming or repudiating the certificate of National Service No. A808297 issued to the plaintiff, Barrister Peter Ndubuisi Mbah.

“Upon weighing the circumstance of this case, I make an order awarding the sum of N5,000,000.00 (Five Million Naira) against the defendants jointly and severally as general damages for misrepresentation of material facts against the plaintiff.

“This is the judgement of this court.”

Mbah of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was declared the winner of the Enugu state governorship election held in March 18 by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).