Ex-minister Uche Nnaji to face court Monday over certificate forgery
Former Minister Uche Nnaji will be arraigned on Monday on six criminal charges, including certificate forgery and money laundering.
Former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, is set to be arraigned before a Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday, 13 July. The arraignment follows the conclusion of a two-year investigation into his certificate forgery scandal and the filing of criminal charges against the former minister by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
The ICPC filed six criminal charges against Mr Nnaji, coming five days after his arrest on 1 July at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on arrival from Enugu via a chartered flight. His arrest followed an investigation published in October last year, which revealed that the then-minister forged his University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) degree and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificates, which he submitted to President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian Senate during his ministerial confirmation in 2023.
The six-count charge sheet obtained by Premium Times details the allegations against Mr Nnaji. Count one states that he "took possession" of ₦29.5 million through his Fidelity Bank account as basic salary and allowances while serving as minister, "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, an offence contrary to Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000. 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" to the government.
Mr Nnaji's case mirrors the 2015 certificate forgery scandal involving a former National Assembly member, which also resulted in criminal charges and eventual conviction. The pattern is familiar: public officials submitting forged credentials to secure positions of power, only to face the consequences years later. The question is whether the judicial process will deliver justice or become another case that drags on for years.
The winners: the ICPC, which has secured an arraignment; the Nigerian public, which may finally see accountability. The losers: Mr Nnaji, whose political career is effectively over; and the Nigerian government, which had a serial certificate forger in its cabinet for nearly two years.
Bottom Line: A former minister is in court for forging his degree. The question is not whether he did it. The question is how he got into cabinet in the first place.