The Nigeria Police Force has dismissed allegations of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate forgery levelled against the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, describing the claims as unfounded.
The controversy emerged after a coalition of civil society groups petitioned the Presidency, alleging that the minister had provided conflicting information concerning his educational background and NYSC records.
The petitioners had called for an independent investigation into the matter and urged the federal government to ask the minister to resign from office pending the outcome of the inquiry.
Following the allegations, several youth organisations across the country publicly rallied in support of Tunji-Ojo, affirming the authenticity of his certificate and commending his leadership and performance in office.
The National Youth Service Corps subsequently confirmed that the minister’s certificate was genuine.
According to the scheme, a technical error had earlier caused a delay in the processing of records, during which his details were inadvertently omitted.
Despite the clarification by the NYSC, some groups continued protests and mounted pressure on the government to relieve the minister of his duties.
However, reacting to the claims, the Force Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, an Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police, said investigations conducted by the police found no evidence to support the allegation.
“After an exhaustive investigation into the allegations, it has been established that there is no evidence whatsoever of forgery, alteration, falsification or unlawful production of the minister’s NYSC certificate,” Hundeyin said.
He added that the NYSC had been contacted during the investigation and confirmed that the certificate was duly issued to the minister.
“The NYSC was contacted and it was verified that the certificate was duly issued to the minister. The allegations are therefore unfounded,” he stated.
The police clarification effectively confirms the legitimacy of Tunji-Ojo’s NYSC certificate and brings to rest the controversy surrounding the allegation.
Linus Aleke in Abuja
