The
Federal Government is planning to prosecute nine out of 26 members of the Ekiti
State House of Assembly for alleged forgery of their academic results, it has been learnt.
A
source in Abuja on Sunday said 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 was gathered 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.
The
source added, “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.”
Apart
from the lawmakers, it was also gathered that the security agencies were
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.
A
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Femi Falana, once wrote a petition to the
Police, demanding the prosecution of those behind their killings.
When
contacted on Sunday, 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, the Chairman, Committee on Information of the Ekiti
State House of Assembly, Mr. Gboyega Aribisogan, 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.
Aribisogan
added, “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.”
Tags
Politics