COMMITTAL ATTEMPT ON BRIGADIER GEN. AHMED DOGARA: WHY PETER MBAH MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO DESTROY THE NYSC
By Jude Aneke.
Governor Peter Mbah is in the news once again for the wrong reason. Between June 22nd and 23rd 2023, he, as usual, made shocking headlines by extending his binge of institutional abuses from the NYSC whose certificate he forged, to the court of law, whose order he flagrantly disobeyed. On June 22nd, the embattled governor who has yet to respond to the damning defence put forward by the NYSC following his so-called 20 billion suit, showed more interest in bringing an application for committal to prison of the NYSC DG Brigadier General Ahmed Dogara just for doing his job.
On Friday, 23rd June , Peter Mbah defied the Enugu State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal by refusing to appear before it following an application by the PRP gubernatorial candidate, requesting his attendance. The court had on the previous day, granted an order of substituted service on the governor to appear before it to give evidence and to be cross examined by the candidate’s counsel to enable him close his case. The grave implications of the governor’s non-attendance and the alibi held out by his legal team will be discussed in another piece. For now I intend to focus on what happened in an Abuja High Court on 22nd June, 2023.
Abandoning his main suit at the Abuja High Court and rather pursuing a committal order against the NYSC DG, what does Peter Mbah want? The Honourable court to commit the NYSC Director General to prison for a phantom offence in order to keep him out of circulation and incapable of appearing in Enugu to give evidence against him? Must the DG of NYSC be the one to give evidence on behalf of the organization? What is Peter Mbah actually up to?
Many legal pundits see nothing else in Mbah’s seemingly unending drama other than outright desperation on his part to try out any possible solution to his certificate forgery conundrum. They fear that the path being threaded by Peter Mbah is dangerous and has done nothing but worsen his case. It’s interesting to note that it is the same Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Emeka Ozoani who sued the NYSC on Peter Mbah’s behalf, that has yet again, begun another macabre dance of attempting to jail the NYSC DG. Is the Senior Advocate really working for or against Peter Mbah? With the negative publicity the bombastic lawyer has continued to attract to the governor nationwide, without any restraint, many are of the opinion that Emeka Ozoani could either be working for Mbah’s enemies or displaying the most reckless brand of unprofessional practice rarely found among his class of legal practitioners.
If it’s almost impossible to get any court of law to grant Mbah’s application to jail the General, given the circumstances and the fact that the DG has committed no offence performing his duties, what does Mbah’s counsel hope to achieve by continuing to play to the gallery? It is on record that the NYSC has not, in obedience to the court’s order, issued any further disclaimer since the one of 1st February and 28 April, 2023. That being the case, does Mbah expect the organization to retrieve the disclaimers it already issued before obtaining his black market injunction? That is not possible because the court does not restrain a completed action.
Again, If the television interview granted by the NYSC DG after the injunction, was construed by Mbah as a violation of the order, how will his imprisonment help his seemingly hopeless case at the tribunal?
Time has come for Peter Mbah to heed wise counsel
and abstain from further national embarrassment. The ‘SAN’ must realize that if indeed he’s on Mbah’s side, the solution to his problem will not be found outside the election tribunal sitting in Enugu. The Enugu State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, having concurrent jurisdiction with every other High Court, will not be bound by another high court’s decision let alone one obtained by fraud.
Time has come for Peter Mbah to end his nauseating showmanship since no one is getting entertained anymore.
Whatever might be Peter Mbah’s reason for indulging Barr Emeka Ozoani in what he’s continued to do, time has also come for all well meaning citizens of the country, to not only condemn the embattled governor’s unprovoked assault on the NYSC, an organization which has proudly distinguished itself as the last man standing in the nation’s quest for institutional probity and incorruptibility . For standing firm and resisting Peter Mbah’s poisonous and acidic bribery machine which has corroded the almighty EFCC, the police and many other institutions, many Nigerians have come to believe from its example, that there’s still hope for the country.
Every right thinking citizen must refrain from sitting on the fence and rise as one man to defend the NYSC from Peter Mbah’s impunity, bullying and intimidation. Time to stop him from further harassment of an institution which played no role in his decision to forge his discharge certificate and submit same to INEC when even a school certificate would do.
Finally, Peter Mbah’s desperate battle to retain his office and escape justice ever since his scandal was known, should not be won at the expense of the NYSC which has since inception, creditably served millions of Nigerians and continues to do so. The organization therefore deserves our collective support to not only to protect it from Peter Mbah’s contermination and terror but also to collaborate in making the him pay for his crime to serve as a deterrent to others. If anyone deserves to go to jail, it is the serial prisoner and certificate forger and not Brigadier General Ahmed Dogara proudly doing his job.
