A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed allegations of certificate forgery against Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah. The court ruled in favor of Governor Mbah and also imposed a fine of N5 million on the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for accusing him of possessing a fake discharge certificate.
Governor Mbah had taken legal action against the NYSC and its Director, Ibrahim Muhammad, following their publication of a disclaimer denying the authenticity of the discharge certificate issued to him on January 6, 2003.
The NYSC had, in a preliminary objection, sought to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction and competence. However, Justice Inyang Ekwo, delivering the judgment, declared that the certificate presented by Mbah to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was indeed authentic and had been validly issued by the NYSC.
Justice Ekwo further emphasized that the NYSC and its Director-General had misrepresented material facts. The court concluded that Mbah’s unchallenged evidence and the lack of counter-evidence from the NYSC clearly indicated that he had served the mandatory one-year service.
In his final remarks, Justice Ekwo highlighted that the burden of proving forgery allegations rested on the NYSC, and in this case, they had failed to provide sufficient evidence. The court deemed Governor Mbah’s evidence to be more substantial and believable.