“We, therefore, use this opportunity to call on President Bola Tinubu and his government to ensure that this matter is no longer swept under the carpet by powerful individuals in and outside of government,” one of the lawyers said.
A group of lawyers and public interest analysts on Sunday urged President Bola Tinubu to ensure that investigation into alleged certificate forgery involving former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, is not undermined by political influence.
Speaking at a press conference in Lagos, the group, led by lawyer Liborous Oshoma, commended the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for arresting the former minister but criticised what it described as the slow pace of efforts to bring him to justice.
The lawyers maintained that Mr Nnaji’s resignation from office in 2025 did not absolve him of the allegations and urged the anti-graft agency to pursue the case to its logical conclusion.
Their call comes four days after the ICPC announced that it had arrested Mr Nnaji at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport while executing a bench warrant issued by the Federal High Court.
The commission stated that the former minister was apprehended after repeatedly failing to honour invitations over allegations that he forged a degree certificate from the University of Nigeria (UNN) and an National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate submitted during his ministerial screening in 2023.
The allegations arose from a two-year PREMIUM TIMES investigation published in October 2025, which found that although Mr Nnaji was admitted to study Microbiology/Biochemistry at UNN during the 1981/82 academic session, he did not graduate after failing a compulsory Virology course and was not issued a degree certificate by the university.
The investigation also confirmed that he forged the NYSC discharge certificate he submitted during his ministerial screening.
Mr Nnaji resigned from office three days after the publication of the investigation. Months later, a federal government panel set up by the Minister of Education reviewed the university’s records, graduation lists, registry documents and other official materials before reaching the same conclusion earlier reported by PREMIUM TIMES, that Mr Nnaji did not graduate from UNN.
According to the ICPC, the Federal High Court authorised Mr Nnaji‘s arrest after the commission told the court that he had repeatedly ignored invitations for questioning.
Although the former minister initially denied the existence of the arrest warrant, he later appealed the court’s decision.
At Sunday’s briefing, the lawyers stressed that the investigation and the findings of the government panel had strengthened the case for criminal prosecution.
They recalled that PREMIUM TIMES obtained correspondences exchanged between Mr Nnaji and the university’s registry between November 1985 and May 1986, including a handwritten application in which he sought permission to retake a failed Virology course after missing a scheduled examination because of ill health.
The group also referred to a subsequent court filing in which Mr Nnaji reportedly acknowledged that UNN had not issued him a degree certificate.
They argued that this raised fresh questions about how he obtained the certificate dated July 1985 that he later submitted for his nomination as minister.
The lawyers further alleged that Mr Nnaji’s NYSC discharge certificate contained inconsistencies, including service dates suggesting he commenced national service before his claimed graduation and a signature they said belonged to a former NYSC Director-General who was not in office at the time the certificate was purportedly issued.
They urged President Tinubu to ensure that the investigation is allowed to proceed without interference.
“We, therefore, use this opportunity to call on President Bola Tinubu and his government to ensure that this matter is no longer swept under the carpet by powerful individuals in and outside of government,” Mr Oshoma said.
The group also demanded that, if the allegations are proven, Mr Nnaji should refund the salaries, allowances and other benefits he received while serving as minister between 2023 and October 2025, arguing that the payments were obtained under false pretences.
They further called on the Federal Government to review official actions and decisions taken during Mr Nnaji’s tenure as minister, saying accountability should extend beyond the criminal investigation.
