FG to prosecute nine Ekiti lawmakers for certificate forgery

Not less than nine members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly are set to be prosecuted by the Federal government for alleged forgery of their academic results. According to reports by Punch, the decision was based on intensive investigation by Nigeria’s secret police, DSS, who had carried out the investigation into the credentials submitted by the politicians to the Independent National Electoral Commission during the last general elections.

 “We have investigated the academic credentials of the lawmakers based on petitions sent to us by the politicians in the state. “The petitions were based on alleged false declaration of academic qualifications and alleged age falsification in the papers presented to the INEC. “We have been able to know that petitions against nine members of the State House of Assembly are genuine. We have already presented our report and we are expecting the office of the AGF to study it and prepare the charges against the suspects,” a source was quoted.



 Also, security agencies reportedly  planning to reopen the murder cases of three prominent sons of the state. They are Mr. Tunde Omojola, Kehinde Fasuba and Dr. Ayo Daramola. Daramola was murdered on August 14, 2004; Omojola on May 28, 2005; while Fasuba was murdered on January 3, 2009. There were allegations in the state that their killings were politically-motivated and carried out in mysterious circumstances. But the Ekiti state house of assembly as described the purported prosecution of its members as propaganda. “Up until today, none of our members has been invited by any security agency. There can be no prosecution without investigation by the police. This is part of the rumour and propaganda from the enemies of the government.

 “None of our members forged certificates. We went through screening with the DSS and we duly submitted our certificates to INEC and underwent proper documentation. “Have they checked with the West African Examinations Council or relevant educational institutions to confirm their (certificates) authenticity or otherwise. No security agency will buy into the propaganda,” the chairman, committee on Information of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Mr Gboyega Aribisogan said. Recall that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had raised allegation that policemen had invaded the state in a bid to begin arrest of PDP lawmakers.