January 29, 2009
There was a strange celebration in Kanya, Babura LG of Jigawa state today.The member representing Babura/Garki Federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Ibrahim Yushau Kanya rolled out drums. He came to town with young men and women drumming, singing and jubilating. They were all celebrating the death of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC).The federal MP personally led the jubilant crowd. He kept raising his hands as his cronies sang that the "handcuffs" Nigerian Newspapers reported were clamped on his hands last week have been removed permanently.
“All who care should come out and see us. The handcuffs they say were clamped on us have been removed. We have buried them and nobody can bring them up again”, they sang.
The MP was celebrating the end of his certificate forgery case with the ICPC. Some Nigerian newspapers had broken the news last week that he is engulfed in a certificate scandal following a petition forwarded to the ICPC by a politician from his constituency. According to the petition, Yushau Kanya had used WAEC certificates carrying his name but which were not obtained by him to gain admission into a tertiary institution in Kano. He then submitted a certificate fraudulently obtained from the institution to INEC to fulfill prerequisite qualification for election.
Though ICPC detained the MP briefly after confirming that his WAEC certificates were truly obtained fraudulently, he was released after powerful interests intervened. He went underground after he was released as he sought political and spiritual solutions to his problems.
His efforts paid off when the leadership of the House of Representatives took up his defense. All efforts to bring him to justice are now being blocked effectively. This must have given him so much confidence that he has decided to come out and celebrate. Maybe we should ask ICPC some questions. Is it true that the case has now died? Is it true that it has been buried? Is it true that Nigerians need not bother fighting corruption any longer? Yushau Kanya has spoken. He and his cohorts are still celebrating in Kanya and throughout Jigawa even as I write this letter.
Background Reports:
Jigawa MP in cert forgery scam-Daily Triumph
From ISMA’ILA MUHAMMAD, Dutse
A federal legislator from Jigawa state, Hon. Ibrahim Yushau Kanya has run into trouble following a discovery by ICPC that the credentials he presented to INEC to stand election in 2007 were forged.
Our correspondent authoritatively learnt that the former deputy speaker of the Jigawa House of Assembly was detained alongside his younger brother, Muhammad Yushau Kanya by the anti-corruption agency last year before they were granted bail on payment of the sum of N5million and N3million respectively.
An ICPC official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that both Senator Mujitaba Makama Malam, and one Malam Muhammad, a primary school teacher in Babura signed the bail bond with the ICPC.
Daily Triumph further learnt that the ICPC which completed investigation six months ago is currently getting set to drag the federal legislator to a court to try him for ‘forgery, lying under oath and impersonation’.
Moreover, officials of the West African Examination Council in one of their corresponden-ces relating to the authenticity and otherwise of the results submitted to INEC by the lawmaker dated 13th June 2008 with reference number KN/RC/CONF/1 declared that ‘he and Yushau Ibrahim of our record are not one and same person’.
Daily Triumph also obtained a post card with centre number 5203005/224 bearing the picture of one Muhammad Ibrahim Kanya, a lecturer in Microbiology Department of Bayero University, Kano, suspected to be the MP’s younger brother.
While the legislator claimed he was born on August 7th, 1963 in acertified true copy of INEC documents, the date of birth on the post card indicated that Ibrahim was born 20th January, 1974.
Our correspondent also discovered that the signatures of the two Kanya’s were strikingly different from what is obtained in the post card and the INEC certified true copy.
The letter signed by one E.K Daniel (Result and Certificate Officer) and M. M Ikhina for Head of National office in Kano stated that “our records showed that Yushau Ibrahim whose photograph is embossed above, sat for examination with index Number 5203005/224 are not one and same person in our record”.
The curiosity over the results arose from the fact that in 1985 when the legislator rounded off his secondary school examination, he recorded F9 in all the Art subjects he sat for, and 10 years later, when he sat for a private May/June GCE posted a brilliant result in all the Science subjects.
The lid was blown open by a concerned citizen from the legislator’s constituency (Garki/Babura federal constituency) in a petition sent to the chairman of Independent Corrupt Practices Commission dated June 9th 2008.
The petitioner, Alhaji Nasiru Garba Dantiye had alleged that Ibrahim Yushau Kanya was not qualified to represent the constituency, arguing that the picture, date of birth, signature, and line of subjects in the two results submitted to INEC by him was contradicting.
The petition obtained by Daily Triumph alleged that Yushau Kanya, a former student of Government Secondary School, Rano in Kano state recorded F9 in all the eight subjects he sat for in the final year examination in 1985.
Efforts by our correspondent to reach out to the MP for comment proved futile as he refused to pick calls put through to his GSM line.
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