Scandal in Nigeria: Former minister arrested for using fake diplomas

Uche Nnaji, the former Minister of Science and Technology, was arrested this Wednesday at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. He was met by security forces as he disembarked from a private flight from Enugu.

High-ranking airport sources confirmed the information to our colleagues at PREMIUM TIMES, specifying that the former minister is being transferred to the premises of the relevant authorities.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICPC) had been tracking the former minister for many months. In reality, Uche Nnaji's downfall began last year when he was forced to resign following investigations that revealed he had falsified his university degrees.

In mid-June, the Federal High Court in Abuja escalated the investigation by ordering the ICPC to arrest him immediately. Faced with Mr. Nnaji's repeated refusals to respond to official summonses for the purposes of the investigation, the court even authorized the commission to publicly declare him wanted through national newspapers and social media.

The affair, which broke thanks to a two-year investigation by the media outlet PREMIUM TIMES, is chilling in its audacity. The investigative journalist revealed last October that the then-minister had simply falsified:

1- His degree from the University of Nigeria at Nsukka (UNN)

2- His National Youth Service (NYSC) certificate.

The most incredible thing? Uche Nnaji submitted these fake documents directly to President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian Senate during his ministerial confirmation in 2023.

The State Security Service (SSS) and the office of the Secretary of the Government of the Federation were all fooled by these forged documents.

Cornered, the former minister had nevertheless tried to save face. Initially, he categorically denied the existence of the court order against him, crying foul and claiming it was a "media circus." But the house of cards collapsed when he finally had to admit that the University (UNN) had never awarded him any degree whatsoever. This admission definitively validated the journalists' work.

In a last-ditch effort to avoid being handcuffed, Uche Nnaji appealed the arrest warrant on June 18th to the Abuja Court of Appeal. This appeal, however, was not enough to prevent his arrest this Wednesday.