Group Asks Court To Order Kemi Adeosun’s Arrest, Prosecution Over NYSC Certificate Scam

The group, Global Integrity Crusade Network (GICN), has urged the Federal High Court in Abuja to order the arrest of Kemi Adeosun, Nigeria’s former finance minister.

The complainant prayed the court to compel the State Security Service (SSS), the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), to arrest Adeosun for forgery of a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate.

Adeosun, born and educated in the United Kingdom, had skipped the youth service mandatory for under-30 Nigerian graduates. However, she came up with an NYSC certificate purported to have exempted her from the exercise.

The uncovering of this forgery scandal in 2018 triggered a probe by a panel set up by President Muhammadu Buhari. Although the probe report was never made public, it led to Adeosun’s resignation from office on September 14, 2018.

Her resignation letter was made public in a statement, and Adeosun admitted that the NYSC certificate was forged, but claimed she was not aware it was counterfeit.

A recent judgment she obtained from the Federal High Court in Abuja, ruled that she did not need to have participated in the youth service.

She claimed to have been vindicated, even though the verdict did not decide on the unchallenged evidence of certificate forgery against her.

In the new suit calling for Adeosun’s arrest and prosecution, the trustees of Global Integrity Crusade Network (GICN) sued the Director-General of SSS, Yusuf Bichi; the Inspector-General of Police, Baba Alkali, and the ex-minister as defendants.

The suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/732/2021 was filed on behalf of the plaintiff by its lawyer, Esther Iorhuna.

The complainant, through the suit, sought among others, an injunction restraining Adeosun from travelling out of the country to take refuge in another country and also seek a declaration that the DG of SSS and the IGP “are under legal duty to arrest and prosecute Adeosun, for fraudulently using a fake National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Exemption Certificate and intentionally giving false evidence before Ogun State House of Assembly”.

The group, also request, “An order of mandamus compelling the 1st and 2nd defendants to perform their legal duties under Sections 1, 2 (3) and 8 of the National Security Agencies Act, 1 and 86 read together with Instrument No. 1 of 1999 as well as section 4 of the Police Act, 2020 by forthwith arresting and prosecuting Adeosun.”