Njokwu Ifeanyichukwu, a whistle-blower who exposed Anita Anurika Odom, a senior staff member of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) for certificate forgery, is being persecuted by the Nigeria Police Force.
Mrs Odom is being prosecuted by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for forging academic certificates which she purports were issued by the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
Harassment And Prosecution Of Whistle-blower
However, Mr Ifeanyichukwu, the whistle-blower who exposed how Mrs Odom forged the UNIPORT and NYSC’ certificates which she used to gain employment at the Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS), is currently being prosecuted by ASP Alabi Sulaimon of the anti-visa fraud unit of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) in Abuja.
SaharaReporters learnt that the matter of forged certificates was reported to the Commissioner of Police FCT Command to investigate by the whistle-blower who had earlier gone to court, asking the court to mandate the police to investigate the case of certificate forgery, but the matter was highjacked by ASP Sulaimon, who turned the complainant (whistle-blower) to an accused, and made the suspect become a complainant.
Ms Odom used her contacts in the police to transfer the matter to the anti-visa fraud unit of the FCID.
Prosecuting Mr Ifeanyichukwu on behalf of the ICPC suspect, ASP Sulaimon accused the whistle-blower of making false statements before a magistrate court by accusing Mrs Odom of certificate forgery. The police also accused the whistle-blower of forgery, for hiring the service of a private investigator to expose Mrs Odom’s certificates’ forgery.
SaharaReporters gathered that on May 7, 2025, ASP Sulaimon and other fully-armed police officers from the FCID arrested Mr Ifeanyichukwu within the Federal High Court premises, and detained him for several hours at Mrs Odom’s behest.
“ASP Alabi Sulaimon and other police officers from the FCID anti-visa fraud unit assaulted me in front of the Federal High Court, beat me, and took me to the FCID office where I was detained for hours,” Mr Ifeanyichukwu told SaharaReporters.
He noted that the police informed him that Mrs Odom had accused him of lying against her, and he wasn’t allowed to contact his family while in detention.
Mr Ifeanyichukwu said, “When I was arrested at the Federal High Court, my phones were confiscated by the police, and the IPO (Alabi Sulaimon) did not allow me make calls or let people know where I was. They also manhandled the lawyer that was with me at the time of arrest.”
“I was brought before the woman (Mrs Odom) while she was seated inside the FCID, in the office of a top police officer who threatened that I would be ‘dealt with’ since I refused to drop the certificate forgery case against her,” he added.
Documents exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters show that on May 28, 2025, the police arraigned Mr Ifeanyichukwu before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory for filing a direct criminal complaint before a magistrate court, accusing Mrs Odom for certificates’ forgery.
Whistle-blower Granted Stringent Bail Conditions
Following the arraignment, the whistle-blower was granted bail, and asked to provide two Level 14 officers who both have properties worth N50 million.
Speaking about his stringent bail conditions, he said, “The court asked me to provide two level 14 officers who both have properties worth N50 million, and after I provided them, the court’s registrar asked the sureties to provide federal character commission certificates, thereby making the bail strenuous to meet at the particular time,” Mr Ifeanyichukwu told SaharaReporters.
SaharaReporters had reported that Mrs Odom, a Level 13 civil servant with AGIS, a department responsible for land records in the FCT, was being prosecuted by the ICPC for forging certificates of the UNIPORT and the NYSC to secure employment at the AGIS.
The NYSC and UNIPORT had also confirmed to the ICPC that the documents being paraded by Mrs Odom were forged and not issued by either of the purported institutions.
Mrs Odom, an in-law of Chuka Odom, a former Minister of State for the FCT, was employed into AGIS in 2009 with the aid of the ex-minister, despite her questionable educational qualifications.
Anita Anurika Obasi, a 44‑year‑old woman from Ebonyi State, married Benjamin Ndubuisi Odom,brother of former FCT Minister of State, Chuka Odom, in November 2009. Following the marriage, she adopted her husband’s surname, changing from Obasi to Odom to reflect her new marital status.
In December 2025, under case number CR/717/2025, the ICPC charged Ms. Odom before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory with four counts of forgery. The charges alleged that she falsified UNIPORT and NYSC certificates, which she used to secure employment at the FCTA.
The offences levelled against her by the ICPC are punishable under Section 364 of the Penal Code Act 2000.
Certified true copies of the 44-year-old’s employment records showed that she was employed by the FCTA on August 17, 2009, as an Administrative Officer II, and had since become an Assistant Chief Administrative Officer.
The ICPC accused Mrs Odom of forging a certificate that purports that she graduated from the Department Political and Administrative Studies degree from the UNIPORT.
In an affidavit tendered by the ICPC which was obtained by SaharaReporters, the university confirmed in August of 2023 that Mrs Odom was its student at some point but did not graduate.
NYSC Confirms Odom’s Certificate Is Fake
Also, in a letter titled “Investigation Activities Request For Confirmation,” dated September 18, 2023, the ICPC charged the NYSC to confirm the authenticity of a document with Certificate Number A001143537 belonging to Mrs Odom, and was purportedly issued by the NYSC.
“The Commission is investigating a case of alleged violation of the provisions of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000,” the ICPC’s request letter read.
“In view of the above and pursuant to Section 28 of the cited Act, you are kindly requested to confirm the authenticity or otherwise of the attached Certificate of National Service in respect of Obasi Anurika Anita.”
However, in its response dated March 18, 2024, the NYSC informed the ICPC that the document with Certificate Number A001143537 belonging to Mrs Odom, was not issued by the scheme.
The letter reads, “Our investigations reveal the following; No record of Mobilization for National Service nor deployment to Imo State in 2008;
“Call-up number does not exist;
“Certificate no. A001143537 is not in the series of certificate numbers for Certificates of National Service produced for Imo in 2008;
“In view of the foregoing, the Certificate of National Service belonging to Obasi Anurika Anita with Certificate Number: A001143537 forwarded for verification was not issued by the NYSC.”