Posted by The PM News on
Two persons, Brown Evbrin and Matthew Noah Anuwakeni, have been arrested on allegation that they forged marriage certificates.
Two persons, Brown Evbrin and Matthew Noah Anuwakeni, have been arrested on allegation that they forged marriage certificates.
The suspects were arrested on Thursday, 14 August, 2008 by men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps at the premises of the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs, Federal Marriage Registry along Rilwanu Road (former Kingsway Road), Ikoyi, Lagos.
Several fake marriage certificates and blank certificates were recovered from the suspects.
The prime suspect, Brown Evbrin from Delta State was said to be a former staff of the ministry whose salary was stopped following his refusal to resume at Abuja office of the ministry when he was transferred from Lagos two years ago.
Investigation revealed that since then he had allegedly taken to touting and forging of the ministry's documents.
The suspects were paraded last Friday in Ikoyi Liaison Office of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
Barrister (Mrs.) V. N. Emeka Eneke, the Federal Registrar of Marriages in the Ministry of Interior comments:
We have been having quite an embarrassing situation concerning touting and the activities of touts outside the office and inside the compound. Some of them pose as staff but they are not my staff. They forge my signature and forge all other documents. We have been looking for a way to stop all these activities of the touts. Fortunately, for us and unfortunately for them, the men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps attached to the Federal Marriage Registry have arrested two of them with fake and forged marriage certificates. They were actually issuing the marriage certificates when they were caught in the act. One of them, Brown Evbrin happens to be an ex-staff of this very office. This is quite embarrassing. Why do it right inside the premises of my office? I am very happy they have been arrested. I am sure this will deter others.
'Even local government marriage registry staff do come here posing as if they are my staff.
I have had various instances where I am called at various embassies to verify marriage certificates and funny enough, most of these certificates are fake when we look at the certificates and the documents.
'One of the suspects who was our former staff was posted to Abuja, but he did not report to the Abuja office but chose to remain in Lagos; and if you stay for a long time and you don't report to your posting that means you are no longer a staff and your salary will be stopped.
It is a long time he has been in this business. We have been warning him and others. We put some measures in place in trying to control the activities of these touts.'
On what she intended to do with the suspects, she said: 'I think the Civil Defence arm of the ministry will take care of them. All along I have been trying to stop them one-on-one and now that the Civil Defence is coming in I am very happy about that