NYSC official in court: Nnaji's 1985 service certificate did not come from us

A senior official of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) says the service certificate tied to former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, was never produced by the scheme. He gave the evidence before a Federal High Court in Abuja.

Yusuf Abubakar Jumare, an assistant director in the NYSC's certification department, gave evidence on Tuesday as the second witness for the prosecution, which is being led by the ICPC.

He pointed to four things he said were wrong with the document. Its serial number starts with the letter A, which he said the scheme only began using in 1990, five years after the certificate's supposed date. The call-up number has four digits, when numbers at the time had five. It shows 13 months of service instead of 12. And it is signed by a 'National General', a title he said did not exist then, because the NYSC head was called Director.

When cross-examined, Jumare stood by his evidence but agreed he had not checked whether Nnaji was ever issued a genuine certificate. Nnaji's lawyers said they would challenge the admissibility of the prosecution's documents later, as they had not yet been served with them.

Nnaji faces six counts linked to certificates he allegedly presented during his 2023 ministerial screening. He has pleaded not guilty, and the allegations have not been proven. Justice Joyce Abdulmalik adjourned the case to 30 November and 29 January.