ALDRAP writes DSS to investigate John Aikpokpo-Martins over false allegations against Deputy Speaker , House of Representatives

22nd February 2026.

Director-General,

Department of State Security Services (DSS),

Headquarters, Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

ATTENTION: Director, Department of State Security Services (DSS), National Assembly Command, Abuja, FCT.

Dear Director-General, Sir,

REQUEST FOR URGENT INTERVENTION AND INVESTIGATION OF MR. JOHN AIKPOKPO-MARTINS FOR HIS CIRCULATION OF A PETITION AGAINST THE DEPUTY SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, THE SAID PETITION CONTAINS HALF-TRUTHS, OUTRIGHT FALSEHOODS IN VIOLATION OF SECTION 13(4) OF THE NATIONAL YOUTH SERVICE CORPS (NYSC) ACT, 1993, THE SAID PETITION IS NOW A POTENTIAL CAUSE OF BREACH OF NATIONAL SECURITY CONSIDERING THAT STAFF OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ARE PLANNING A PROTEST WITHIN THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY PREMISES AS FROM MONDAY 23RD FEBRUARY 2026.

By way of introduction our Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners-ALDRAP is an incorporated trustee registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in the year 2017.

Our Association-ALDRAP is made up of over 2,500 lawyers who are staff and consultants of the National Assembly, State Houses of Assembly, Local Government Area (LGA) Area Council Legislative Assemblies, ECOWAS PARLIAMENT and other Legislatures within and outside Nigeria.

Our primary goal is to ensure that both officials and institutions within Nigeria comply with the provisions of both the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and other relevant legislation.

In terms of compliance with the relevant laws and performance of his duty as a legislator of the National Assembly, we write to confirm that Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, National Assembly is one of the top ten performers. He is on record as one of the sponsors of the highest number of Bills during the 9th Assembly (2019 to 2023).

In terms of his services to the Nigerian legal profession, he has also been a contributor and supporter of major initiatives. See attached a letter dated September 2021 authored by the Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu in support of the annual general conference of the NBA for the year 2021.

While it is true that no public official can perform 100%, it is true that members of the public can have grievances against their legislators and other public officials, however, these complaints and grievances should be based on 100% verifiable facts and not half-truths or speculations. These facts must be verified before publication of any complaints against public officials in social media or other platforms.

It is based on the foregoing that we write to seek the urgent intervention and investigation of Mr. John Aikpokpo-Martins, Esq., a lawyer who has recently published false allegations against Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, National Assembly.

We write to specifically request investigation and prosecution against Mr. John Aikpokpo-Martins, Esq. because his petition contains falsehood and misleading information in violation of Section 13(4) of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Act, 1993.

Contrary to the allegations of Mr. John Aikpokpo-Martins, Esq. at the time of his undergoing the NYSC, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu was aged 39 years which implies that he qualified for exemption under Section 17 of the said NYSC ACT, 1993 therefore, there was no obligation for his to attend full-time NYSC service which in turn did not prevent him from attending the Nigerian Law School simultaneously.

We further request prosecution of Mr. John Aikpokpo-Martins, Esq. under Section 13(4) of the NYSC Act, 1993 to prevent a breach of national security at the National Assembly's premises wherein there are rumours of planned protests against the Deputy Speaker based on the misleading petition by Mr. John Aikpokpo-Martins, Esq.

Additionally, prosecution of Mr. John Aikpokpo-Martins, Esq. will serve as a deterrent to other petitioner who fail to undertake prior thorough investigation and research before authoring petitions.

Based on online search, Mr. John Aikpokpo-Martins, Esq. is in the habit of authoring such half-baked and ill-researched petitions regarding the NYSC status of public officials. For example, a few years ago, he authored a similar petition against the Hon. Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy.

As a senior lawyer, Mr. John Aikpokpo-Martins, Esq. has not explored and exhausted internal mechanisms to confront Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, before making public his petition through social media platforms.

As an Association-ALDRAP, we previously had a complaint against Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu in his capacity as Spokesperson of the House of Representatives, National Assembly regarding delay in payment for legal research and writing services that we rendered for publication of the GREEN CHAMBERS magazine which was the official magazine of the 9th Assembly of the House of Representatives, National Assembly.

Instead of going viral with this information, we resorted to reporting theatter to a professor of law at the University of Calabar which is the Alma Mater of the Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu and the matter was resolved amicably and we preserved our professional working relationship till date.

In light of the foregoing, we seek the urgent intervention of the Department of State Security Services (DSS) to forestall the blowback from the planned protests arising from Mr. John Aikpokpo-Martins, Esq. highly publicised petition against the Rt. Hon. Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Okezie Kalu.

We thank you in advance for your anticipated prompt and positive response.

Yours faithfully,

E-Signed,

Jesse Williams Amuga, Esq.,

Administrative Secretary,

Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners-ALDRAP.

Suite 1.39 House of Representatives wing, National Assembly Complex, Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

cc:

1. Director-General, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Headquarters, Abuja, FCT;

2. Director-General, Nigerian Law School, Bwari, Abuja, FCT;

3. Chairman, Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, LPDC, Abuja, FCT;

4. President, Nigerian Law Society (NLS), Abuja FCT;

5. President, Nigerian Bar Association-NBA;

6. President, Law Society of Lesotho; Palace of Justice, Maseru, Kingdom of Lesotho;

7. Dean, Faculty of Law, National University of Lesotho, Roma, Kingdom of Lesotho.