Alleged Certificate Forgery: Court allows ex-Minister Nnaji to travel for medical treatment

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By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

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ABUJA — The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday gave former Minister of Science and Technology Chief Uche Nnaji, who is facing trial for alleged certificate forgery, permission to travel abroad for medical treatment.

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In a ruling delivered by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, the court directed the release of Nnaji’s international passport, which he surrendered as part of his bail conditions.

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The ruling followed an application that the embattled former minister filed through his team of lawyers, led by Mr. James Onoja, SAN.

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Justice Abdulmalik ordered the defendant to return the passport before October 26, when his trial is scheduled to resume.

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It will be recalled that the erstwhile minister was, on July 13, arraigned before the court on a six-count forgery charge that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) preferred against him.

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Nnaji, who was in President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet from August 16, 2023, until he resigned on October 6, 2025, is alleged to have forged his academic credentials, particularly a degree certificate from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).

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He is further accused of presenting a bogus National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate during his ministerial screening in 2023.

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According to the ICPC, the defendant received over N29 million as basic salary and allowances during the period he served as a minister with the forged documents.

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The commission maintained that he ought to have known that such funds formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, namely corruption and fraud.

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By his action, the defendant was said to have committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2)(d) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

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The defendant pleaded not guilty to the allegations and was admitted to bail in the sum of N20 million with one surety in like sum.

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Security operatives arrested the former minister at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on July 1, upon his return to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

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Some of the counts in the charge against the defendant read: “That you, Geoffrey Nnaji Uchechukwu (M), 63 years old, of Plot 1855, Mahathir Mohammed Street, Asokoro, Abuja, sometime between the months of August 2023 and October 2025 or thereabouts at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, while being a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, took possession of the sum of Twenty-Nine Million, Five Hundred and Seventy-Eight Thousand, Four Hundred and Sixty-Six Naira, Sixty-Seven Kobo (N29,578,466.67) through your Fidelity Bank Plc Account No. 6590039751 as basic salary and allowances as Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, when you reasonably ought to have known that such funds formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: corruption and fraud, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2)(d) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

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“That you, Geoffrey Nnaji Uchechukwu (M), 63 years old, of Plot 1855, Mahathir Mohammed Street, Asokoro, Abuja, sometime in August 2023 or thereabout, at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to mislead the Federal Government of Nigeria, knowingly gave false information, i.e., a false Certificate of National Service with Certificate Number A231309, purportedly issued by the National Youth Service Corps, Abuja, to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, an agent of the Federal Government of Nigeria, for the purpose of documentation for your appointment as Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which information you knew was false, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 17(1)(c) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.

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“That you, Geoffrey Nnaji Uchechukwu (M), 63 years old, of Plot 1855, Mahathir Mohammed Street, Asokoro, Abuja, sometime in August 2023 or thereabout, at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to mislead the Federal Government of Nigeria, knowingly gave false information, i.e., a University Degree Certificate in Microbiology/Biochemistry with Certificate Number 004501, purportedly issued by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, an agent of the Federal Government of Nigeria, for the purpose of documentation for your appointment as Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which information you knew was false, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 17(1)(c) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.”

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