Certificate Trial: Nnaji Pleads Not Guilty, Freed On N20m Bail
A once-prominent figure in President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet stood in the dock of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday, entering a not-guilty plea to a six-count charge that has placed the credibility of his academic record at the centre of a closely watched corruption trial.
Uche Nnaji, former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, was arraigned before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over allegations that he forged his university degree and National Youth Service Corps discharge certificate. The 63-year-old, dressed in a white outfit and a red cap, acknowledged supporters in the courtroom before the charges were read to him.
According to the charge sheet, the anti-graft agency alleges that Nnaji knowingly presented a forged NYSC certificate, numbered A231309, to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation during his 2023 ministerial documentation. It further alleges that he submitted a University of Nigeria, Nsukka degree certificate in Microbiology/Biochemistry, bearing Certificate No. 004501, which the commission says is false. Two of the counts concern the alleged fraudulent receipt of N29,578,466.67 through his Fidelity Bank account as salaries and allowances between August 2023 and October 2025, which the ICPC described as proceeds of unlawful acts under the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022. The forgery counts fall under Sections 363 and 364 of the Penal Code.
The prosecution, led by Osuobeni Akponimisingha, told the court it was ready to open its case and had three witnesses present. Defence counsel, Chief Ogwu Onoja, SAN, however asked for time to prepare and drew attention to a bail application filed on July 9. The prosecution did not oppose it.
In her ruling, Justice Abdulmalik admitted Nnaji to bail of N20 million with one surety in like sum. She ordered that the surety be a federal civil servant not below Grade Level 15, resident in the Federal Capital Territory, and directed the defendant to deposit both his official and international passports with the court. The matter was adjourned to September 21 for the commencement of trial.
The case has its roots in months of investigation. The ICPC says both UNN and the NYSC disowned the certificates in question, a claim that forms a central plank of its prosecution. Investigators had earlier extended formal invitations to the former minister, but he allegedly failed to appear, prompting the commission to obtain a Federal High Court order on June 11 authorising his arrest. He was picked up on June 30 by operatives of the Department of State Services at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, shortly after arriving from Enugu, and handed over to the ICPC.
Nnaji resigned from office on October 7, 2025, describing his exit as a principled decision to protect the sanctity of due process rather than an admission of guilt. He has consistently denied wrongdoing, framing the case as the product of a politically motivated campaign against him. He remains the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Enugu State, a detail that has sharpened public interest in the proceedings.
Outside the court, more than 300 demonstrators under the banner of the Global Gender Safety and Moral Development gathered to demand accountability. The group’s convener, Comrade Shuaibu Abdulkadir, urged the Attorney General of the Federation and the ICPC to discharge their duties without fear or favour. Until the court determines the matter, the former minister remains presumed innocent.