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Nine Ekiti Lawmakers To Be Prosecuted For Forgery

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Nine members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly are to be prosecuted by the Nigerian government for alleged forgery of their academic results.

According to the Punch, a security source said in Abuja on Sunday, July 24, 2016, that the decision to prosecute them was based on the outcome of “an intensive investigation carried out by the Department of State Services into the state lawmakers’ certificates.’’

The DSS, it was gathered, carried out the investigation into the credentials submitted by the politicians to the Independent National Electoral Commission during the last general elections.

It has been alleged that the probe was sequel to a myriad of petitions sent to the agency and the Police by aggrieved members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party and the opposition party in the state, the All Progressives Congress.

Investigation was said to have been carried out in schools allegedly claimed to have been attended by the lawmakers and their former places of work.

The source explained that the files of the affected lawmakers had been sent to the office of the Attorney General of the Federation for prosecution.

“We have investigated the academic credentials of the lawmakers based on petitions sent to us by the politicians in the state,” the source said.

“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.”

When contacted on Sunday, July 24, 2016, the Special Adviser to the AGF on Media and Publicity, Mr. Salihu Isah, said he was not aware of the planned prosecution, but promised to find out.

“I am not aware of whether there is anything like that. I promise to find out during the week,” he said.

Reacting to the planned prosecution, Gboyega Aribisogan, the chairman, Committee on Information of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, said no member had been invited by any security agency for questioning.

He argued that there could be no prosecution of their members without investigation and subsequent indictment, stressing that the said prosecution was a “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,” Aribisogan said.

“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.” He added.

The Ekiti State House of Assembly is made up of 26 members.

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