Certificate Forgery: Court allows Uche Nnaji to travel abroad for medical treatment

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday ordered the release of former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology Uche Nnaji’s passport to enable him travel abroad for medical treatment.

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Judge Joyce Abdulmalik granted the application filed by Mr Nnaji’s lawyer, Ogwu Onoja, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), when the former minister’s alleged certificate forgery case came up for hearing.

The judge, in a ruling, ordered the release of the passport and adjourned the case until 26 October for continuation of trial.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is prosecuting Mr Nnaji on six counts of certificate forgery, false information, abuse of office and money laundering.

Mr Nnaji, 63, pleaded not guilty to all the charges when he was arraigned on 13 July.

The case followed an investigation into allegations that the former minister submitted false academic credentials in support of his appointment to the federal cabinet.

The ICPC alleged that Mr Nnaji received N29.58 million in salary and allowances between August 2023 and October 2025 while serving as minister, describing the money as proceeds of unlawful acts.

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The commission also accused him of using his office to confer a corrupt advantage on himself by receiving the payments.

Four other counts concern allegations that Nnaji forged and used a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate and a purported University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) degree certificate.

The ICPC alleged that Mr Nnaji presented an NYSC certificate numbered A231309 and a purported UNN certificate in Microbiology/Biochemistry, numbered 004501, during the documentation process for his ministerial appointment.

But, Mr Nnaji has denied wrongdoing.

After his arraignment in July, the court granted him bail in the sum of N20 million with one surety.

The judge ordered that the surety must be a federal civil servant not below Grade Level 15 and must provide evidence of employment and salary payments.

As part of the bail conditions, the court also directed Nnaji to deposit his international passport and other travel documents with the court.

It was the passport deposited under that order that the court released on Monday following the defence application for his medical trip.

How the certificate controversy began

The case against Mr Nnaji followed a two-year PREMIUM TIMES investigation into his academic and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) records.

The investigation found inconsistencies in the purported NYSC discharge certificate and degree certificate presented by Mr Nnaji. Further checks with the NYSC and the UNN raised questions about the authenticity of the documents.

The investigation found, among other things, that although Mr Nnaji was admitted to UNN in 1981, he did not complete his studies and was not on the university’s 1985 graduation list. PREMIUM TIMES also found discrepancies in the purported NYSC certificate, including its numbering and the identity and designation of the official said to have signed it.

UNN subsequently told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Nnaji did not complete his studies and that the university did not issue him the degree certificate he presented. NYSC authorities also said they could not authenticate the certificate of national service in his possession.

READ ALSO: What Nigeria’s laws say about Uche Nnaji’s possible jail terms over forgery, laundering charges

Three days after the investigation was published, Mr Nnaji resigned as minister while President Bola Tinubu accepted his resignation.

Mr Nnaji filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja against UNN, its Vice-Chancellor, Simon Ortuanya, the university’s registrar and other officials, as well as the Minister of Education and the National Universities Commission, to stop UNN and its officials from releasing or tampering with his academic records and asked the court to compel the university to release his transcript.

In court filings, Mr Nnaji acknowledged that UNN had not issued him the degree certificate in his possession, although he maintained that he had completed his studies. The university has maintained that he did not graduate.

Mr Nnaji also petitioned the Minister of Education, alleging, among other things, improper disclosure and manipulation of his academic records. A seven-member panel constituted by the education minister reviewed the university’s records and concluded that Mr Nnaji had forged the UNN degree certificate.

It said his name was absent from the university’s approved 1985 graduation list and that his academic file contained correspondence between him and the university over a failed Virology course, including a May 1986 application to retake the course.

An investigation panel set up by Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, praised the Vice-Chancellor of the UNN, Simon Ortuanya, and a former Acting Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Oguejiofor Ujam, for exposing Mr Nnaji’s certificate forgery.

The ICPC subsequently opened a criminal investigation into the allegations and later filed a six-count charge against Mr Nnaji, accusing him of certificate forgery, false information, abuse of office and money laundering.