Man Who Testified As DSS Official To Authenticate Peter Mbah’ NYSC Certificate Is Retired – Sources Reveal  

A man, identified as Isa Yahaya Mohammed, who on behalf of the Department of State Services (DSS) testified to the authenticity of the passing out certificate for National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) of the Enugu Governor, Peter Mbah is allegedly no longer in service.

Naija News reported on Wednesday that the DSS slammed the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) over what it described as a shoddy investigation of the passing out certificate of the Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah.

It was gathered that the secret police had, through a report, testified to the Enugu Election Petition Tribunal on Wednesday that the governor’s certificate was authentic.

The DSS slammed the NYSC for what it described as a shoddy and hasty investigation with the conclusion that Mbah’s NYSC discharge certificate was fake.

DSS had, in a statement on oath adopted by its representative, Mr. Yahaya Isa Mohammed, at the ongoing Enugu State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Enugu, disclosed that the NYSC had misplaced Mbah’s original file and opened a temporary one for him after he had returned from Law School to complete his NYSC.

The secret police said it discovered that the certificates given in Mbah’s series were found to have been issued to corps members in Lagos, contrary to NYSC’s claim.

Giving evidence, Yahaya, who also identified himself as DSS Deputy Director, Operations and Strategic Department, said the security agency commenced an investigation into the discharge certificate controversy following a petition to it by Mbah dated February 8, 2023.

However, fresh details have emerged that Yahaya, the said DSS official, had retired from service a few years ago.

According to SaharaReporters, a source in the secret police disclosed that Yahaya retired as an Assistant Director of the DSS some years ago.

This implies that Yahaya wasn’t an official of the DSS at the time of giving his account at the Enugu tribunal last week.

One of the sources further said, contrary to Yahaya’s claim, the DSS does not respond to subpoenas, as its mandate does not include such investigations that would require it to be summoned to open court session

He said, “Yahaya, who testified at Enugu governorship tribunal, is no longer with the DSS; he left the DSS some years ago. But some people are desperate to help Governor Mbah with his case, and this involves some people at the top.

“So Yahaya, who does dirty jobs for the DSS, was recruited to testify in favour of Mbah.

“It is not possible for the DSS to be subpoenaed on such matters. Even when we are called to investigate issues such as certificate forgery by public officials, it is done discreetly, and the findings are classified and shared only with relevant authorities.

“It is unheard of to find the service rendering before the courts or any member of the public, facts, and materials from our investigations. It is not part of what we do here, 

“It will be unheard of for the DSS to put itself in a position where it is seen to contradict a federal government agency.

“You must know that the service must be aware of the position of the NYSC (National Youth Service Corps) on the matter. NYSC has clarified that the man you are talking about (Peter Mbah) did not obtain his discharge certificate from them.

“How can the DSS, a federal government agency, be contradicting another important federal government agency? It cannot happen. Our job here is to protect the integrity of the Nigerian Government and its institutions and not to run them down.”

Another DSS source said there is no position like Deputy Director, Operations or Deputy Director, Strategy at the DSS headquarters. Which Yahaya claimed to have held.

He added that” We do not have such positions as you mentioned in our office. I don’t know where that person came from, but it is certainly not from our office.

“In this document tendered by the so-called witness from the SSS or DSS, he described himself as the Deputy Director, Strategy. I wish to inform you that the position of deputy director does not exist in the service. What you hear is Assistant Director and then Director.”

When contacted for clarification regarding Yahaya’s case, the spokesman for the DSS, Dr Peter Afunanya, simply said, “We are investigating.”