NYSC has disowned Geoffrey Nnaji’s discharge certificate and told court that the document is fake.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has disowned the discharge certificate linked to former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Geoffrey Nnaji, telling a Federal High Court in Abuja that the document was not issued by the organisation.
An NYSC official, Yusuf Abubakar Jumare, disclosed this on Tuesday while testifying as the second prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of the former minister before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik.
Nnaji is facing six charges, including alleged forgery of an NYSC discharge certificate and a University of Nigeria, Nsukka, degree certificate.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is prosecuting him over allegations of certificate forgery and money laundering in charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/389/2026.
The former minister, who is the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the forthcoming Enugu State governorship election, was represented in court by a legal team led by Chief Wole Olanikpekun, SAN.
Other members of the defence team included Chief Ugwu Onoja, Bode Olanikpekun and George Ibrahim, all Senior Advocates of Nigeria.
Testifying before the court, Jumare, an Assistant Director in the NYSC Department of Certification, said an investigation conducted by his department established that the disputed certificate was not issued by the Corps.
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Jimoh Abdulmumuni, SAN, the witness explained that the investigation commenced following a request from the ICPC.
He identified four discrepancies which, according to him, showed that the certificate purportedly presented by Nnaji was not authentic.
First, he said the certificate number carried the prefix letter “A”, although the NYSC did not introduce that numbering format until 1990, while the disputed document was purportedly issued in 1985.
Second, the call-up number on the certificate contained four digits, “0137”, whereas call-up numbers issued in 1985 consisted of five digits.
Third, Jumare said the document indicated a service period of 13 months instead of the required 12 calendar months.
The fourth discrepancy, according to the witness, concerned the designation of the official who signed the certificate.
He told the court that the NYSC chief executive was designated as “Director” during the period in question, whereas the disputed certificate was signed by an official identified as a “National General”.
The prosecution also tendered copies of correspondence between the ICPC and the NYSC concerning the disputed certificate. The documents were admitted in evidence and marked as exhibits.
However, the defence informed the court that it would address its objections to the admissibility of the exhibits at a later stage, explaining that it had not been served with the documents.
In response, the prosecution counsel said he had only recently taken over the case and undertook to make the documents available to the defence team.
During cross-examination by Bode Olanikpekun, SAN, Jumare maintained that the certificate was not issued by the NYSC.
He explained that his department was the custodian of all certificates issued by the Corps and that discharge certificates were awarded to corps members upon successful completion of their mandatory service year.
The witness further explained that NYSC call-up letters were sent to universities, where graduates collected them, adding that universities were responsible for forwarding the names of eligible graduates to the Corps for mobilisation.
However, under further questioning, Jumare admitted that he did not personally verify whether Nnaji had ever been issued a certificate by the NYSC.
Following the proceedings, Justice Abdulmalik adjourned the case until November 30 for the continuation of the cross-examination of the second prosecution witness.
The court also fixed January 29 for the continuation of the trial.
