By Musa Baba Adamu
A Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday dismissed the allegations of forgery of a discharge certificate brought against the Enugu State Governor, Barrister Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, by the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
Justice Inyang Eden Ekwo threw away the allegations following the inability of the Corps to prove and defend the allegations as required by law.
The judge, in a judgment in a suit by the governor against the NYSC, imposed a fine of N5 million on the Corps to be paid jointly to the plaintiff for suppressing facts and conspiring against him in the heinous allegations.
The court held that with the unchallenged evidence of the plaintiff on how the discharge certificate was issued to him in 2003 by NYSC after serving in a law firm in Lagos and the inability of the Corps to come up with counter-evidence, it was crystal clear that the plaintiff served the mandatory one-year service.
Among others, Justice Ekwo held that while the onus to prove forgery allegations lies heavily on the NYSC, it failed, leaving Mbah’s evidence heavier and more believable.
Mbah had sued the NYSC and its Director, Corps Certification, Ibrahim Muhammad, for publishing a disclaimer, denying the issuance of a discharge certificate issued to him on January 6, 2003.
The NYSC had, on February. 1, written a letter signed by Ibrahim Muhammed saying that the Corps did not issue the NYSC certificate in Mbah’s possession
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