An investigator with Nigeria’s Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission told the Federal High Court in Abuja that the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and the National Youth Service Corps rejected certificates allegedly submitted by former Innovation, Science and Technology Minister Uche Nnaji.
Yakubu Ibrahim, appearing on Monday as the prosecution’s first witness before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, gave the evidence in the case accusing the former minister of certificate forgery.
Quick facts
- The ICPC began its inquiry after receiving two petitions alleging certificate fraud by Nnaji.
- The documents under review were a BSc certificate in Microbiology and Biochemistry and an NYSC discharge certificate dated May 15, 1986.
- UNN said Nnaji’s records included a November 7, 1984 withdrawal notice linked to failure in General Microbiology.
- Nnaji later resigned from the cabinet amid the controversy and is seeking the PDP ticket for Enugu State’s 2027 governorship race.
Ibrahim said the commission sought verification from the National Assembly, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, UNN and the NYSC. The inquiry concerned documents said to have been presented during Nnaji’s 2023 ministerial screening.
The Clerk of the Senate subsequently transmitted the certificates to the ICPC, the investigator said. The NYSC informed the commission that it had not produced the discharge certificate in question, while UNN similarly rejected the degree certificate.
The university supplied Nnaji’s academic file, including a withdrawal letter dated November 7, 1984. It cited his failure in General Microbiology.
UNN told investigators that a student who failed a subject on four occasions could not qualify for a degree. Ibrahim said Nnaji failed at two stages, missed the third stage on medical grounds, and then sat a supplementary examination despite not having registered for it.
Under cross-examination by Wole Olanipekun, SAN, counsel for the former minister, Ibrahim acknowledged that he did not travel to UNN as part of the inquiry. He also said he could not identify the location where the disputed certificates may have been produced.
He said, however, that the investigation team interviewed the university’s registrar. “The NYSC said the certificate was not issued by it, which was why we did not ask where he served,” Ibrahim told the court.
Nnaji resigned from his ministerial post after the certificate allegations emerged. He is now pursuing the People’s Democratic Party nomination for the 2027 Enugu State governorship election.
He reportedly omitted the disputed university certificate from documents filed with the Independent National Electoral Commission ahead of the election.
