Group Condemns Petition Against Deputy Speaker Kalu Over NYSC, Law School

Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu

A civil society organisation, the Igbo Mandate Movement Group, has condemned a petition filed against the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, describing it as “frivolous, mischievous, and politically motivated.”
The group described the petition as the latest episode in what it says is a years-long campaign to sabotage the career of one of Nigeria’s most prominent Igbo lawmakers.
The petition, authored by Mr. John Aikpokpo-Martins, a former First Vice President of the Nigerian Bar Association, was addressed to the Legal Practitioners’ Disciplinary Committee and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), requesting a review of records relating to Kalu’s professional qualifications and national service history.
In a press statement signed by its National Coordinator, Igboeli Arinze Napoleon, the Igbo Mandate Movement Group said the petition follows a pattern of credential-related challenges that have trailed Kalu at every stage of his rise.
According to him, when Kalu was nominated as a Commissioner in Abia State, detractors alleged that he had never graduated from the University of Calabar. The claim, he said, was disproved when Kalu subsequently obtained an LL.M. and a Ph.D. from the same institution and later delivered its 50th Anniversary Convocation Lecture.
He further stated that when Kalu sought election to represent Bende Federal Constituency, it was first alleged that he had entirely evaded NYSC service. When that claim was debunked, the allegation shifted to assertions that his NYSC certificate was forged—an accusation that, according to the group, required a formal letter from the then NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Y. D. Ahmed, to finally put to rest.
“The same forces of retrogression have returned with yet another iteration of the same discredited narrative,” the group said.
Addressing the substance of the current petition, the group outlined the circumstances surrounding Kalu’s 2010 service year. It stated that although he graduated from the University of Calabar in 1998, the Nigerian Law School—then operating only two campuses in Lagos and Abuja—was unable to absorb the volume of qualified graduates promptly. The resulting backlog, the group said, left many law graduates waiting years for admission. During this period, Kalu travelled abroad to acquire further qualifications.
Upon returning to Nigeria and being mobilised for NYSC in 2010, he was posted to Enugu North Local Government Area, where he served in the office of the Chairman. According to the statement, he participated fully in orientation camp activities, emerged as a Platoon Leader, and received the Citizenship and Leadership Award.
At the same time, his long-awaited admission to the Nigerian Law School was offered, placing him at the Enugu Campus in Agbani, approximately thirty minutes from his NYSC place of primary assignment. Faced with the choice of deferring admission and potentially waiting another three to four years or abandoning his NYSC service in breach of the NYSC Act, he opted to pursue both obligations concurrently.
The group stated that his primary assignment schedule was structured to enable him to fulfil his duties at the local government area before attending Law School classes. It added that he met all weekly and monthly NYSC clearance requirements and exceeded the mandatory 70 per cent Law School attendance threshold. Furthermore, he was reportedly among only three students selected to serve on the research team of the then Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, Professor Ernest Ojukwu.
On the legal issues raised, the group argued that any NYSC declarations critics seek to rely upon are prospective in nature. According to the statement, such provisions stipulate what “shall not” be done going forward and cannot be applied retroactively to Kalu’s 2010 service year.
“Laws are not retroactive in nature,” the statement read. “Such declarations do not carry the force of law and would not survive scrutiny under an affidavit on oath.”
The group also maintained that a call to the Bar constitutes professional certification and noted that corps members across Nigeria routinely acquire professional certifications—such as in management, cybersecurity, project management, and accountancy—during their service year, with the knowledge of the NYSC.
Beyond defending Kalu, the group used the statement to call for urgent policy reform. It observed that thousands of Nigerian law graduates continue to face prolonged delays between graduation and admission to the Nigerian Law School. According to the group, Kalu’s experience—both in 2010 and in its renewed scrutiny—highlights a systemic failure that requires legislative intervention to ensure timely access to Law School and to prevent legal practitioners in national service from being penalised for navigating structural deficiencies in good faith.
“Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu deserves commendation—not condemnation,” the statement added.
The group called on the Legal Practitioners’ Disciplinary Committee and the NYSC to treat the petition with what it described as the contempt it deserves.