Ex-Minister Nnaji Under ICPC Investigation Over Alleged Certificate Forgery

According to Premium Times, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) has officially opened an inquiry into claims of certificate fabrication involving Uche Nnaji, the former Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology.

The inquiry follows Premium Times’ meticulous two-year research, which was first made public in October 2025 and found that Nnaji had falsified his degree and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificates when he was confirmed as a minister in 2023. Three days after the report was made public, he resigned from government due to the revelations.

According to people familiar with the matter, the ICPC has written to the Nigerian Senate and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, requesting copies of the paperwork Nnaji provided to justify his appointment as a minister, Premium Times said.

“The Nigerian Senate was contacted for the same purpose by the anti-graft agency,” according to a source.

Under Nigerian law, the former minister may be prosecuted for forgery and associated offenses if the investigation supports the claims.

UNN Registrar and VC Appear Before ICPC Detectives
Also under investigation is the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), the university at the heart of the dispute. UNN’s registrar, Celine Nnebedum, reportedly appeared before ICPC inspectors to defend the organization’s stance.

Nnebedum had made contradictory claims on Nnaji’s academic background in previous answers to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. Nnaji was accepted in 1981 and graduated in 1985, she informed another media in 2024.

She later recanted, stating that the institution was unable to find his name in the 1985 session’s graduation records, in a different statement to the Public Complaints Commission (PCC) in May 2025.

Nnaji never received a degree from UNN, the university stated in a subsequent letter dated October 6, 2025, written by F.C. Achiuwa, Senior Deputy Registrar (Records), on behalf of Nnebedum.

Although Nnaji was admitted in 1981, he did not graduate and was not given a degree certificate, according to a previous letter from Professor Simon Ortuanya, the university’s vice-chancellor.

ICPC Is Looking for More Documents
The registrar replied to the commission’s letter to UNN seeking explanation, according to an ICPC source, but investigators requested further documents for additional confirmation.

Whether the necessary documents have been submitted since is unknown. When reached on Thursday, John Odey, the spokesperson for the ICPC, said he was on leave and would not comment.

“I won’t be able to confirm it until I return to the office next week,” he said. I could have answers if you give me a call back on Monday afternoon.

Nnaji reportedly filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Abuja after the first Premium Times exposé in October 2023, attempting to stop UNN and its vice-chancellor from disclosing his academic records.

He cited UNN, its registrar, its vice-chancellor, the National Universities Commission, the Minister of Education, and the university’s Senate among the defendants in the lawsuit.

However, UNN’s vice-chancellor had already confirmed that Nnaji had falsified his degree certificate in response to the newspaper’s FOI request prior to the lawsuit. He was admitted, but never received a degree or certificate, according to later confirmation from the university registrar.

The NYSC authorities denied that Nnaji actually possessed the discharge certificate in a different FOI response.