By Olaitan Ibrahim
The Police have said they are investigating certificate forgery allegations against four contestants in the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) chapter election for the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
This, the FCT Police Command said, was based on a petition it received against four of the contestants.
Spokesperson for the police in FCT, SP Josephine Adeh said this in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday in reaction to claims in a viral video that that the Inspector-General of Police (I-G), Dr Olukayode Egbetokun, has special interest in the FCT NUJ election
But Adeh described the claim as false.
While providing further clarification on the police involvement in the NUJ election, Adeh said the command, on Nov. 25, received a formal petition written by Emeka Nze, Victorson Agbenson and Johnchuks Onuanyim allaeging that some of the aspirants in the NUJ election presented false certificates to back their electoral bid.
According to her, the petitioners had accused Miss Grace Ike, Miss Edeh Ogechukwu, Mr Yahaya Ndambabo and Mr Jide Adeyemi of presenting forged Postgraduate Diploma (PGD) certificates to contest the election.
Adeh said the petition revealed that the certificates were purportedly not issued by the International Institute of Journalism (IIJ).
“The petition highlighted specific discrepancies in the certificates presented by the accused individuals.
“The command stresses that its involvement is strictly limited to investigating the allegations of forgery received via the written petition.
“As part of the investigation, the command invited the individuals named in the petition for questioning to verify the allegations,” she said.
Adeh said the invitation was in line with the duty of the police to uphold the rule of law, maintain order and safeguard democratic processes.
She urged parties involved, to respect the integrity of the ongoing investigation and refrain from spreading baseless accusations that could erode public trust.