The Civil Society Groups for Good Governance (CSGGG) has warned the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, against using a court order to block an ongoing investigation into the validity of his law school qualifying certificate.
The group issued the warning on Wednesday during a press conference in Abuja, where it also commended the Council of Legal Education for setting up a three-member committee to investigate a petition challenging Kalu’s certificate.
However, the CSGGG expressed concern that the Deputy Speaker is already attempting to derail the process before it can properly begin.
Speaking at the press conference, the President of CSGGG, Chief Ogakwu Dominic, alleged that Kalu is planning to approach a Federal Capital Territory High Court to obtain an injunction restraining the Council of Legal Education from proceeding with its investigation.
“More brazen and audacious is the plot by Kalu to run to an FCT High Court tomorrow and obtain an injunction restraining the Council from proceeding with its legitimate investigation,” Dominic said.
“Is Kalu a lawmaker that is afraid of the law?” he asked.
The group noted that Kalu, through his lawyers at Olaniwun Ajayi LP, had written to the Council of Legal Education on April 28, 2026, arguing that the Council lacks the statutory power to revoke his certificate.
In that letter, Kalu argued that there is no express statutory authority for the Council to withdraw a qualifying certificate after it has been issued. He also argued that there was no law prohibiting him from serving in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and attending Law School at the same time.
But Dominic pointed out what he called a significant omission in Kalu’s response.
“Nowhere in that letter did he simply say: ‘I did not serve in the NYSC while in Law School.’ He did not deny the core allegation,” Dominic said.
“Instead, he chose to fight the Council’s jurisdiction and its powers to even look into the matter. That is like a thief arguing that the police have no right to search his bag while the stolen goods sit plainly in plain sight.”
The CSGGG president did not hide his disappointment that the allegations are against a senior public official who is also a legal professional.
“Kalu is a lawyer. He took an oath to uphold the rule of law. He is also a Deputy Speaker. He helps make the laws that bind every Nigerian. Yet here he is, behaving exactly like the kind of person he would condemn if anyone else did it,” Dominic said.
“A lawyer who fears the law. A lawmaker who runs from accountability. That is not leadership. That is a house built on sand, and the tide is coming.
Dominic also recalled that the CSGGG had previously submitted a similar petition on the same issue, but Kalu allegedly frustrated that effort by using proxies to attack the group.
“When our group wrote an earlier petition on this same issue, Benjamin Kalu did not engage us with facts or documents. Instead, he used proxies to fight us,” Dominic said.
“He sponsored faceless groups to attack our character. He deployed people to blackmail us and to accuse us of being politically sponsored. He called us names. He tried to intimidate us into silence.”
The CSGGG president said Kalu frustrated that earlier petition “not by proving us wrong, but by throwing enough dust into the air to twist the minds of unsuspecting Nigerians till they lost interest.”
“That is how he operates. Whenever he is confronted with issues, he does not produce evidence. He produces lawyers, proxies, and noise,” Dominic added.
The group issued a direct appeal to the Council of Legal Education, urging it not to succumb to pressure or intimidation from the Deputy Speaker.
“We want to say this clearly to the Council of Legal Education: Do not be intimidated. Do not succumb to his boasts and name-dropping antics,” Dominic said.
“We know that Kalu is the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. We know he has resources. We know he has connections. But none of that changes the law.”
The CSGGG president argued that the Council has a statutory mandate under the Legal Education (Consolidation, etc.) Act to investigate and take appropriate action if a certificate was obtained based on false representations.
“No court has said otherwise. No provision of the Act says the Council becomes powerless simply because the holder of the certificate is a powerful politician,” he said.
“The law is not a spider’s web that catches only flies while letting the hornets pass through.”
The group said it was not declaring Kalu guilty, but insisted that the investigation must be allowed to proceed without interference.
“We are not saying Kalu is guilty. We are saying that the Council must be allowed to do its work without fear. The committee must sit. The evidence must be examined. Kalu must face the panel, and at the end, if the Council finds that there was no violation, then the matter ends,” Dominic said.
“But if the Council finds that there was false representation or perjury, then it must act accordingly. What we cannot accept is that Kalu is allowed to use his office and his lawyers to shut down the process before it even begins.”
Dominic ended his address with a direct message to Benjamin Kalu.
“Stop fighting the process. Stop using proxies. Stop trying to blackmail the Council into silence. Provide your evidence. Show us that you did not serve in the NYSC while at Law School,” he said.
“If you have the documents, produce them. If you have nothing to hide, cooperate fully. That is what an innocent man does. That is what a lawyer should do. That is what a lawmaker must do.”
“Anything else only confirms what many already suspect — that you are guilty and desperate. A man who runs from the truth is a man who knows the truth will catch him.”
The CSGGG also called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to take notice of the matter.
“The President must speak. He must make it clear that no one, regardless of their position, is above the law. The Nigerian people are watching. They will remember who stood for justice and who looked away,” Dominic said.
Discussion about this post