Ex-NSCDC official ordered to enter his defense in forgery case

By Adeleye Kunle

An FCT High Court in Kubwa ordered Jubrin Buba, a Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps official, to enter his defense as soon as possible.

Buba was charged with six counts of forgery by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

Justice Asmau Akanbi-Yusuf overruled the defendant’s earlier no-case submission and found a prima facie case against him.

Akanbi-Yusuf, on the other hand, ordered the defendant to enter his defense and adjourned the case until October 10 for a hearing.

The defence counsel, James Paul, argued in a motion dated February 8 that the prosecution counsel, Aniekan Ekong, had failed to prove the elements of the offence against the defendant.

He also stated that the exhibits presented in court were photocopies and urged the court to uphold his arguments and clear the defendant of the charges against him.

In response, the prosecution counsel, in a March 11 brief, urged the court to dismiss the no case submission.

The ICPC claimed that the defendant lied to an officer of the commission, Ekere Usiere, by claiming to have a Bsc Degree in Public Administration.

The prosecution claimed that the defendant claimed to have obtained the aforementioned degree from the University of Jos on October 7, 2009.

Ekong went on to say that the defendant forged and passed off as genuine a Testimonial dated September 25, 2002, purportedly issued by Obafemi Owolowo University, Ile-Ife.

He stated that the defendant issued the same to the NSCDC in September 2006, and that it violated Penal Code sections 366 and 364.