*Aimed at ridiculing Nigeria’s judiciary, undermining our democracy
The Labour Party (LP) has described Monday’s ruling of the Abuja High Court on the NYSC certificate forgery case involving the Governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah, as bizarre and unconventional.
The party, in a statement, said that the ruling of Justice Inyang Ekwo is yet another of some strange rulings of the court aimed at “ridiculing the nation’s judiciary and undermining our democracy”.
The Abuja Court pretended not to know many facts about the case including that it’s a matter that came up before the Court of Appeal in Lagos the same day he delivered the unusual judgement.
Justice Ekwo not only slammed a N5 million fine against NYSC and ordered it not to disown Mbah’s forged Certificate, but ruled that Mbah not only served but that the certificate he has was issued by NYSC.
By the ruling, his Lordship in Abuja feigned ignorance of multiple pieces of evidence already produced in courts to show that Mbah was a Chief of Staff to the Governor of Enugu State at a time he claimed he was performing National Service in a firm in Lagos. The Judge also refused to recognise the fact that the forged Certificate Mbah is parading does not bear any resemblance in coding and font to those who passed out the year he claimed.
Labour Party recalled how Mbah made frantic efforts through this very court to stop NYSC from coming to disown a forged certificate being carried on its name during the Tribunal hearing of his case in Enugu until an Appeal Court in Abuja ordered it to go.
The same Justice Ekwo at the time when the Enugu Governorship election tribunal was constituted granted Mr Peter Mbah of the PDP an exparte injunction that he sought which effectively barred NYSC from going to the tribunal to testify. The exparte order was illegally sustained beyond the permissible life of the exparte to the point where NYSC could not properly respond to the invitation of PRP to give testimony.
This state of affairs persisted into the life of the tribunal until LP in mid-July approached the Court of Appeal which graciously ordered NYSC to obey the subpoena of the Enugu Governorship Election Tribunal
The Labour Party said that by that ruling on Monday, the Abuja court is trying to use itself as a vehicle to destroy a credible federal institution like NYSC and warned that it would have far-reaching consequences.
The Justice Ekwo ruling also failed to take into cognizance several legal authorities of superior courts that issuing authority remains the final on authenticating certificates.
The Labour Party said that the objective of this offbeat and curious ruling is essentially to ambush and weaken the case of well-laid points by its gubernatorial flag bearer, Hon. Chijoke Edeoga, whom the voting population of Enugu State voted for overwhelmingly.
The Labour Party, therefore, asked the Judiciary to save itself from anything that will undermine the will of the people of Enugu State as freely expressed to a very great degree on March 18, 2023.
Obiora Ifoh
National Publicity Secretary
Labour Party
