By Linus Aleke
A Civil Rights Advocacy group, operating under the umbrella of the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has alleged plot by powerful elements in the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), to compromise the ongoing investigation, into the alleged forgery of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Discharge Certificate against the Managing Director of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Micheal Akabogu, following the reassignment of the case.

To this end, the group warned against shielding the NSTIF boss from the investigation.

This is even as it demanded an independent probe by another non-biased agency or organization different from the Nigerian Police Force.

This is contained in a petition signed by HURIWA’s National Mobilisation and Good Governance Officer, Miss Amina Mohammed and forwarded to the Senate on Tuesday.

The group in the petition tasked the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan to refer the matter to the appropriate Committee and conduct a public hearing on the alleged forged certificate.

Miss Mohammed noted that the request for a transparent investigation of the forgery allegation against the NSTIF boss became necessary as a result of clandestine plans to compromise the investigation by vested interests within the Nigerian Police Force.

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“Issues of alleged certificate forgery speak of desperation to acquire power and influence at all costs, which has affected the moral compass of the nation and questions its norms and values. Hence, we do not trust the Force headquarters to bring this investigation to an unbiased conclusion as issues have been known to be watered down, especially when coming from a Division to the Headquarters,” she said.

Meanwhile, emerging information on the case reveals that the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), of the Nigerian Police, has taken over the investigation from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command, after the embattled NSITF boss was invited for questioning which, he failed to honour.

Sources familiar with the case also revealed that Akabogu, with the Discharge Certificate number: A030544, was invited last week by the Utako Division of the FCT Police Command following a criminal complaint forwarded to the Commissioner of Police, FCT command, Sunday Babaji, against him.

It was reported that the Police wrote the NYSC to demand clarifications on the said, certificate and NYSC in its response with reference number: NYSC/CCD/VER/10/S.1/VOL/07 and signed by the Acting Director Corps Certification, Ibrahim A.M., disowned the Certificate being paraded by Akabogu.

Other insider sources also alleged, that since the matter became public knowledge, there have been frantic efforts to influence those handling the investigation.

Several calls to the spokesman of the Nigerian Police, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, to find out why the case was transferred to FCID, were not answered.

When contacted, the spokesperson for FCT Command, DSP Josephine Adeh, denied knowledge of the case.

However, HURIWA, while decrying the spate of certificate forgery in the public service, observed that there are a series of disturbing incidences of document forgery situations, which have shown an absolute flight of morality in the polity as a consequence of desperation to acquire power and influence at all costs.