An Abuja Area Court in Lugbe on Friday, February 21, 2020, has ordered the State Security Service, SSS, to investigate an allegation that the deputy governor of Bayelsa State, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, forged a National Youth Service Corps certificate.
Douye Diri and Ewhrujakpor of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, were, on February 14, 2010, declared winners of the election and sworn in as governor and deputy respectively.
Prior to their swearing-in, they were senators representing Bayelsa Central and Bayelsa West respectively.
An APC official in Bayelsa State, Benjamin Youdiowei, had approached the court to seek redress.
Youdiowei alleged that Ewhrudjakpo presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, a forged NYSC Exemption Certificate with number 139708 and dated February 2, 1998.
He also alleged that the deputy governor used the allegedly forged document as part of his credentials.
On November 27, 2019, the judge presiding over the case, Abubakar Sadiq, issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Ewhrudjakpo, following his absence from the court for the day’s proceedings.
During the court session on Wednesday, February 19, 2020, Youdowei’s lawyer, Seidu Jibrin, brought to the notice of the judge that the Wuye Police Division, which was earlier asked by the court to carry out further investigation on the matter, had transferred the case to the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Monitoring Unit.
Responding, Justice Sadiq, said that the police ought to have reported back to the court if the Wuye Division was unable to handle the case before taking the unilateral decision of transferring the case to the IGP monitoring unit.
The judge terminated his earlier order directing the police to investigate the case.
He made a new order that the SSS carry out the investigation.
“We hereby terminate the order of investigation given to the police in respect of this matter and order the DSS to investigate it,” he ruled.
