According to Premium Times, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) has opened a formal investigation into claims that former Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology Uche Nnaji forged a certificate.
Nnaji allegedly falsified his degree and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) credentials submitted during his ministerial confirmation in 2023, according to a thorough two-year investigation by Premium Times that was first published in October 2025. Three days after the report was made public, he resigned from his position due to the revelations.
The Nigerian Senate and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, have received a letter from the ICPC requesting copies of the documentation Nnaji provided to justify his appointment as a minister, according to people acquainted with the matter who spoke to Premium Times.
According to a source, the Nigerian Senate was contacted for the same reason by the anti-graft agency.
The former minister may be charged with forgery and related offenses under Nigerian law if the inquiry supports the claims.
VC and UNN Registrar Appear Before ICPC Investigators
The University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), the university at the center of the dispute, has also drawn criticism. According to reports, UNN registrant Celine Nnebedum appeared before ICPC inspectors to defend the organization’s stance.
Nnebedum had previously made contradictory claims on Nnaji’s academic background in reply to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. Nnaji was admitted in 1981 and graduated in 1985, she revealed to another media in 2024.
She later recanted in a different statement to the Public Complaints Commission (PCC) in May 2025, claiming that the institution was unable to find his name in the 1985 session’s graduation records.
On behalf of Nnebedum, UNN’s Senior Deputy Registrar (Records), F.C. Achiuwa, signed a subsequent letter on October 6, 2025, confirming that Nnaji never received a degree and did not finish his studies.
This stance is consistent with a previous letter from Professor Simon Ortuanya, the university’s vice-chancellor, who also said that although Nnaji was admitted in 1981, he never received a degree certificate.
ICPC Requests More Documents
According to an ICPC source, the registrar replied to the commission’s letter to UNN seeking clarification, but investigators insisted on further documents for more confirmation.
It’s unclear if the needed documentation have been turned in since. John Odey, the spokesperson for the ICPC, said he was on leave and declined to comment when called on Thursday.
“I won’t be able to confirm it until I return to the office next week,” he stated. I might be able to provide you with answers if you give me a call back on Monday afternoon.
In an attempt to stop UNN and its vice-chancellor from disclosing his academic records, Nnaji reportedly filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Abuja after the first Premium Times exposé in October 2023.
UNN, its registrar, its vice-chancellor, the National Universities Commission, the Minister of Education, and the university’s Senate were among the defendants he cited in the lawsuit.
But UNN’s vice-chancellor had already confirmed that Nnaji had falsified his degree certificate in response to the newspaper’s FOI request before the lawsuit. Later, the university registrar confirmed that although he was accepted, he never received a diploma or a degree.
The NYSC authorities rejected the discharge certificate that Nnaji was purportedly in possession of in a different FOI response.