Uche Nnaji, who resigned as the minister of innovation, science and technology over certificate forgery, could face up to 21 years imprisonment or more, a PREMIUM TIMES’ review of various Nigerian laws has shown.
A painstaking two-year investigation published by PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday revealed that Mr Nnaji forged the credentials he submitted to President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian Senate during his ministerial confirmation in 2023.
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On Tuesday, barely three days after this newspaper published the investigation, the then-minister resigned his appointment. President Tinubu has accepted his resignation.
What Nigerian laws say about forgery
Three-year jail term?
Forgery is outlawed in Nigeria’s Criminal Code Act, which prescribes various jail terms for offenders upon conviction, depending on the nature of forgery.
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According to Section 465 of the Act, “A person who makes a false document or writing knowing it to be false, and with intent that it may in any way be used or acted upon as genuine, whether in the State or elsewhere, to the prejudice of any person, or with intent that any person may, in the belief that it is genuine, be induced to do or refrain from doing any act, whether in the State or elsewhere, is said to forge the document or writing.”
Section 467 of the Act states that forgery is a felony that attracts a three-year jail term upon conviction.
But Monday Ubani, a lawyer, told PREMIUM TIMES that the former minister could face up to life imprisonment if it is established that the forgery involved a public seal, as stated in the Act.
According to Section 467(1), paragraphs (a) and (b) of the Act, forgery offences relating to the public seal of Nigeria or of any State of Nigeria or the great or privy seal of any country of the Commonwealth or under the protection of a Commonwealth country, or the seal of the President, or a Governor of a State are designated as “special cases.”
Offenders are liable to life imprisonment upon conviction, according to the subsection of the Act.
“If there’s a seal in the (forged) NYSC certificate or degree certificate, then the punishment is life imprisonment. It’s a more serious offence,” Mr Ubani, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said.
However, a check by PREMIUM TIMES showed that both the degree and NYSC discharge certificates did not have a seal on them.
Penal Code or Criminal Code Act?
Like in the Criminal Code Act, forgery is also outlawed in the Penal Code.
However, while the Criminal Code Act applies to southern Nigeria, the Penal Code covers the northern part of the country.
“Whoever commits forgery shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to fourteen (14) years,” Section 364 of the Penal Code says.
Bulus Atsen, an Abuja-based lawyer, told PREMIUM TIMES that the fact that the former minister forged the certificates was “clear”, given that he presented the certificates to Nigerian authorities.
“They (the certificates) were fraudulently, dishonestly forged. And they were presented to the highest legislative body in Nigeria, which acted on it, believing they were genuine.
“Now, all these are elements of proven forgery,” Mr Atsen said.
The lawyer said his resignation should pave the way for further investigation by the country’s security agencies.
“We will expect the police to thoroughly investigate the matter, and where a prima facie case is established against him, then institute a criminal action against him anywhere in the country,” he said.
Mr Atsen argued that the former minister could be tried under the Penal Code in Abuja, which is in northern Nigeria, where he presented the certificates or under the Criminal Code Act in any part of Nigeria, considering that forgery is both a federal and state offence.
More law
Beyond the Criminal Code Act and Penal Code, Mr Nnaji could also be prosecuted under the Miscellaneous Offences Act, according to lawyers who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES in separate interviews.
“Any person who makes or utters any forged document, cheque, promissory note or other negotiable instrument, knowing it to be false or with intent that it may in any way be used or acted upon as genuine, whether in Nigeria or elsewhere to the prejudice of any person or with intent that any person may, in the belief that it is genuine, be induced to do or refrain from doing any act or thing, whether in Nigeria or elsewhere, shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 21 years without the option of a fine,” according to Section 1 (2) paragraph (c) of the Act.
Background
Allegations of certificate forgery had dogged Mr Nnaji since July 2023, when President Tinubu named him among the first batch of 28 ministerial nominees from 25 states forwarded to the Senate as part of the president’s initial cabinet list, two months after taking office on 29 May 2023.
Critics had long insisted that Mr Nnaji did not complete his university education and that both the bachelor’s degree and NYSC certificate he presented to President Tinubu, and the offices of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the State Security Service, and the Senate, were forged.
The findings of PREMIUM TIMES’ extensive examination of the documents were damning and conclusive: both the degree certificate and the NYSC discharge certificate in the minister’s possession are outright forgeries.
This newspaper reported on Sunday that the then-minister had admitted that UNN never issued him a degree certificate.
Many Nigerians have expressed outrage over the then-minister’s certificate forgery.
On Monday, Mr Nnaji was absent from a press conference his office called to address the matter. His aides, however, appeared on his behalf during which they made unsubstantiated claims, including the claim that the then-minister indeed graduated from UNN.
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PREMIUM TIMES later published documents showing that at the time Mr Nnaji claimed to have graduated from UNN and purportedly proceeded to participate in the mandatory NYSC, he was still exchanging correspondence with the institution on how he could re-sit a failed terminal course examination.
Following the findings of the investigation, the politician resigned his appointment on Tuesday evening.
