Ex-Minister Uche Nnaji to be arraigned over certificate forgery

A former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, is set to be arraigned before a federal high court on Monday, 13 July.

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Mr Nnaji is expected to be arraigned before Justice Abdulmalik Joyce of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that Mr Nnaji would be arraigned before the court by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the anti-graft agency prosecuting the former minister.

Sources involved in his investigation said Mr Nnaji’s planned arraignment followed the conclusion of the investigation into his certificate forgery scandal and filing of criminal charges against the former minister.

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PREMIUM TIMES earlier exclusively reported that the ICPC filed six criminal charges against Mr Nnaji over his certificate forgery scandal.

The filing of the charges came five days after Mr Nnaji was arrested on 1 July at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on arrival from Enugu via a chartered flight.

Mr Nnaji’s arrest followed a two-year investigation published by PREMIUM TIMES in October last year, which revealed that the then-minister forged his UNN degree and NYSC certificates, which he submitted to President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian Senate during his ministerial confirmation in 2023.

Inside the six-count charge

PREMIUM TIMES exclusively obtained a criminal charge sheet detailing the six-count charge against Mr Nnaji.

Count one states that Mr Nnaji “took possession” of N29.5 million (N29,578,466.67) through his Fidelity Bank account as basic salary and allowances while serving as Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, “when you reasonably ought to have known that such funds formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: corruption and fraud.”

The ICPC argued that, by this act, Mr Nnaji committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2)(d) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

Count two accuses him of using his ministerial office to “confer corrupt advantage” on himself during the same period. “You thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000,” the charge sheet reads.

Under count three, the ICPC alleges that Mr Nnaji, “with intent to mislead the Federal Government of Nigeria, knowingly gave false information” by presenting a “false Certificate of National Service” (Certificate Number: A231309) to the government for his ministerial appointment.

The commission said he committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 17(1)(c) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.

Count four alleges that, in August 2023, Mr Nnaji knowingly gave “false information” by presenting a Microbiology/Biochemistry degree certificate (Certificate Number: 004501) to the government, knowing it to be false, thereby violating the same section of the Corrupt Practices Act.

In count five, the ICPC alleges that, around May 1986, Mr Nnaji knowingly produced a false document – the Certificate of National Service (No. A231309) – and used it as genuine, committing an offence contrary to Section 363 and punishable under Section 354 of the Penal Code.

Count six alleges that Geoffrey Nnaji Uchechukwu (63), of Plot 1855, Mahathir Mohammed Street, Asokoro, Abuja, knowingly produced a false document – a “University Degree Certificate of Microbiology/Biochemistry with Certificate Number: 004501”—purportedly issued by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, around July 1985.

He is accused of using the document as genuine, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 363 and punishable under Section 364 of the Penal Code.

Background

In October 2023, PREMIUM TIMES began investigating Mr Nnaji’s academic records. The then-minister had submitted his degree and NYSC certificates to President Tinubu and the Nigerian Senate during his ministerial confirmation. He claimed he obtained a degree from UNN in 1985.

Disturbed by the scrutiny, Mr Nnaji filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja to block the UNN and its Vice-Chancellor, Simon Ortuanya, from releasing his academic records. Other defendants in the suit included the Minister of Education, the National Universities Commission, the university’s registrar, its former Acting Vice-Chancellor, Oguejiofo Ujam, and the University Senate. However, the politician recently applied for an out-of-court settlement through his legal team.

Before Mr Nnaji could obtain a court injunction, Mr Ortuanya had already responded to a PREMIUM TIMES Freedom of Information (FOI) letter, confirming that Mr Nnaji forged his UNN degree certificate.

The university registrar later corroborated this, indicating that although Mr Nnaji was admitted in 1981, he neither graduated nor was issued a certificate.

NYSC authorities also disowned the discharge certificate in the possession of the then-minister in response to a separate FOI letter. Mr Nnaji resigned from his position as minister three days after this newspaper published the investigation.

Earlier this year, legal practitioner Liborous Oshoma criticised the Nigerian government for failing to prosecute Mr Nnaji, maintaining that he should be barred from holding public office as a deterrent.

Meanwhile, in March, this newspaper exclusively reported that an investigative panel set up by the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, confirmed that Mr Nnaji forged his certificates.

Mr Nnaji has since moved from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In late May, he emerged as the governorship candidate of the Wike-backed PDP faction for the 2027 general elections. He would have immunity from prosecution if he wins and is sworn in as governor.

In mid-June, a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the ICPC to arrest Mr Nnaji. Despite denying the order’s existence, he filed an appeal against it on 18 June at the Court of Appeal in Abuja.

The ICPC also secured a court warrant to detain the former minister for an initial 14 days.