NYSC Certificate: Lawyer Petitions IGP To Probe Enugu Governor Mbah

A legal practitioner, Ejikeme Ignatius Ugwu, has petitioned the Inspector General of Police, calling for a discreet investigation into the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate allegedly submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by the Governor of Enugu State, Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, in 2022.

In the petition dated October 20, 2026, and written on behalf of his client, Obodoeze Chukwuma Ocho, Ugwu, of Ejike Ugwu & Associates, Abuja, asked the IGP to use his office to order an investigation into Certificate No: LA/FRN/01/808297/A808297.

According to the petitioner, Governor Mbah submitted a copy of the said NYSC certificate to INEC in 2022 ahead of the general elections.

The petition states that by a letter dated November 23, 2022, a law firm, Omas & Partners, wrote to the Director General of NYSC under the Freedom of Information Act, seeking to verify the legal status and authenticity of the certificate.

Ugwu claimed that in a response dated February 1, 2023, signed by Ibrahim A. Muhammad on behalf of the NYSC, the Corps stated that the certificate was not issued by it.

He further claimed that the then Director General of NYSC, during an interview with Arise TV, maintained the position that the certificate being paraded did not emanate from the Corps.

The petitioner acknowledged that Governor Mbah, as a serving governor, enjoys immunity from criminal prosecution under Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), but argued that the immunity does not shield him from investigation.

He cited the Supreme Court decision in Chief Gani Fawehinmi Vs IGP (2002) 7 NWLR (Pt.767) 606 where the court was said to have held that Section 308 does not prevent the police from investigating criminal allegations against a sitting President, Vice President, Governor or Deputy Governor.

According to the petition, the failure to investigate the matter is of great concern to the client and to Nigerians, as it could create the impression among young people that “certificate forgery is a gateway to election into public office”.

The petitioner therefore prayed the IGP to order a discreet investigation into Certificate No: A808297, with a view to unveiling the culprits and bringing them to book.

Copies of the said NYSC certificate, the Omas & Partners letter of November 23, 2022, and the NYSC response of February 1, 2023, were said to have been attached to the petition for official and record purposes.