The immediate past Minister of Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, was arrested on Wednesday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, shortly after arriving from Enugu aboard a chartered flight.
According to PREMIUM TIMES,authoritative sources at the airport confirmed the arrest,saying Mr Nnaji would be handed over to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for interrogation.
Nnaji is expected to be handed over to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission for interrogation over allegations of certificate forgery.
The anti-corruption agency had reportedly been on the trail of the former minister since he resigned from office last year after investigations allegedly uncovered that he forged his academic certificates.
In mid-June, a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the ICPC to arrest Nnaji as part of its investigation into the alleged certificate forgery scandal. The court also granted the commission permission to declare him wanted through national newspapers, social media platforms and other media channels.
The ICPC told the court that its ex parte application became necessary after the former minister repeatedly failed to honour invitations extended to him for investigative activities relating to the forgery allegations.
The commission’s investigation followed a two-year PREMIUM TIMES probe, published in October last year, which alleged that Nnaji forged his University of Nigeria, Nsukka degree certificate and National Youth Service Corps certificate.
According to the report, the former minister submitted the alleged forged documents to President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian Senate during his ministerial screening and confirmation in 2023.
The newspaper further reported that the same bachelor’s degree and NYSC certificates were presented to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the State Security Service and the Senate.
Nnaji later admitted that the University of Nigeria, Nsukka never issued him a degree certificate, an admission that PREMIUM TIMES said corroborated the findings of its investigation.
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