Rep denies plagiarising colleague’s bill

Yusuf Yakub, a member of the house of representatives from Adamawa, has denied plagiarising a bill sponsored by Uzoma Abonta, his colleague from Abia.

TheCable had reported how Abonta alleged that the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professional of Nigeria bill from Yakub (pictured) is not different from the one he earlier sponsored.

The previous bill was passed by the house but President Muhammadu Buhari is yet to assent to it.

“What is now surprising now is that this bill now being considered… I authored the other forensic bill. This bill is word for word with the bill I authored. That is plagiarism,” Abonta had said at a public hearing on the proposed law.

Benjamin Sekpe, legal adviser to the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals, had also said the bill “is a photocopy”.

But in a statement issued by Nkem Anyata-Lafia, Yakub’s spokesman, the Adamawa lawmaker said he circulated copies of the new bill before the public hearing.

“To dispel the issue of cloning a previous bill, the sponsor of the bill that had just undergone public hearing, Hon  Buba (Yakub) addressed the press and produced the copies of the two bills in question for the independent scrutiny of the members of the press, who, consequently, ascertained that the copies of the two bills were grossly different in words and structure,” the statement read.

TheCable could not verify his claim that the bill was sent to the media.