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 stated that the petition represents the latest development in what it described as a sustained campaign aimed at undermining the political career of Kalu, whom it identified as one of the most prominent Igbo lawmakers in Nigeria.
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, 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 organisation said the petition follows a recurring pattern of credential-related allegations that have surfaced at various stages of Kalu’s public service journey.
“When he was nominated as a Commissioner in Abia State, detractors alleged he had never graduated from the University of Calabar — a claim disproved when Kalu subsequently obtained an LL.M and a PhD from the same institution and delivered its 50th Anniversary Convocation Lecture.
“When he sought election to represent Bende Federal Constituency, it was first alleged he had dodged NYSC service entirely. When that was debunked, the allegation shifted to claims that his NYSC certificate was a forgery — a claim that required a formal letter from the then NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Y.D. Ahmed, to finally extinguish.
“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 organisation outlined details of Kalu’s 2010 national service year. According to the statement, Kalu graduated from the University of Calabar in 1998, but admission delays at the Nigerian Law School, which at the time operated only two campuses in Lagos and Abuja, created a backlog that left many qualified law graduates waiting several years before gaining entry.
The group said Kalu travelled abroad during the waiting period to pursue further academic qualifications and later returned to Nigeria, where he was mobilised for the National Youth Service Corps in 2010. He was posted to Enugu North Local Government Area and served in the office of the Chairman.
It added that during the same period, his long-awaited admission into the Nigerian Law School was granted, placing him at the Enugu Campus in Agbani, located approximately thirty minutes from his NYSC place of primary assignment, prompting him to fulfil both commitments simultaneously.
Beyond defending Kalu, the group called for urgent policy reforms, noting that thousands of Nigerian law graduates continue to face prolonged waiting periods between university graduation and admission into the Nigerian Law School.
The organisation argued that Kalu’s experience highlights broader structural challenges within the legal education system and called for legislative action to ensure timely access to Law School admission while protecting corps members in the legal profession who must navigate institutional delays.
“Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu deserves commendation — not condemnation,” the statement concluded, urging the Legal Practitioners’ Disciplinary Committee and the National Youth Service Corps to treat the petition with the contempt it deserves.
