Court clears former Finance Minister of NYSC certificate forgery

An Abuja division of the Federal High Court has cleared a former Nigerian Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, of the alleged National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate forgery, which resulted in her eventual resignation from office in 2018.

Justice Taiwo Taiwo on Wednesday, declared that the former Minister did not need the NYSC discharge certificate to take up a ministerial appointment in the country

Her resignation over the NYSC certificate controversy followed series of relentless news coverage on the matter for some months and some court cases against her and the NYSC.

She however instituted a suit against the federal government which also joined the Attorney General of the Federation.

Delivering judgment in the suit Justice Taiwo noted that Adeosun, who graduated in a London University in 1989, was already 36 years old and in line with the requirements of the scheme was exempted from service.

The judge went ahead to grant the four reliefs sought by the plaintiff and held that the NYSC certificate based on the constitution is not a mandatory requirement for holding a political office in the country.