Alleged Certificate Fraud: CSOs dig in despite LPDC jurisdictional ruling on deputy speaker

By Omeiza Ajayi

ABUJA: A coalition of civil society groups under the aegis of Civil Society Groups of Good Governance CSGGG has rejected claims suggesting that the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee LPDC dismissed a petition involving certificate fraud allegations against the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Okezie Kalu.

In a statement released Thursday in Abuja, President of the coalition, Chief Dominic Ogakwu characterized the purported dismissal as a “pyrrhic reprieve.”

He clarified that the LPDC did not clear the deputy speaker of the substance of the allegations but instead ruled that the issues raised fell outside its statutory jurisdiction.

According to the group, the core of the petition concerns whether Kalu simultaneously participated in the National Youth Service Corps NYSC scheme while undergoing training at the Nigerian Law School.

Ogakwu argued that the timeline evidenced in Kalu’s NYSC discharge certificate and his Call to the Bar suggests a potential contravention of the NYSC Act and Law School requirements.

​“It is mischievous and a clear case of seeking legal reprieve for allegations that are well documented to claim that the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, LPDC, dismissed claims of certificate fraud and perjury against the Deputy Speaker.

“What the LPDC simply said was that it lacked the statutory jurisdiction to entertain the matter of how Mr Kalu was enrolled by the Supreme Court as a legal practitioner and obtained his NYSC discharge certificate at about the same time”, the coalition said. 

The CSGGG president questioned whether the deputy speaker misled the Nigerian Law School, the NYSC and the Body of Benchers to obtain his credentials and subsequent enrollment as a legal practitioner.

He noted that these “posers” remain unresolved despite the LPDC’s jurisdictional ruling.

Drawing parallels to previous high-profile cases, the statement cited the resignations of former Finance minister, Kemi Adeosun and the challenges faced by the sacked Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, regarding certificate controversies.

The group expressed its determination to pursue the matter further, stating that the LPDC’s decision to decline jurisdiction would not end the inquiry.

It also announced plans to approach other relevant bodies and organize a protest at the National Assembly to demand accountability, adding that no officeholder is above scrutiny. 

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