WorldStage– The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), a mandatory one-year program for Nigerian graduates under 30, has confirmed to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) that the Certificate of National Service (No. A001143537) held by Anita Anurika Odom (formerly Obasi Anurika Anita) is forged.
Odom was reportedly employed as an Administrative Officer II in 2009 during the tenure of former FCT Minister Chuka Odom, who is her husband’s elder brother.
Odom, now an Assistant Chief Administrative Officer with the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), is currently under investigation for allegedly using forged academic and NYSC credentials to secure her employment in August 2009.
In a letter dated March 2024, the NYSC stated it has no record of Odom’s mobilization or deployment to Imo State in 2008, adding that the call-up number provided does not exist, and the certificate number is not within the series produced for that year.
The University of Port Harcourt (UniPort) also informed the ICPC that while Odom was a student between 2000 and 2007, she did not graduate and failed out after exhausting her residency period.
The ICPC has filed a four-count charge against her at the Federal High Court in Abuja, bordering on forgery and the dishonest use of forged documents. Recent reports indicate Odom has evaded arrest attempts in Imo State, with a related civil suit questioning her credentials (FHC/ABJ/CS/929/2024) is also active, with hearings scheduled to continue throughout 2025 and 2026.
