Former Nigerian Minister Uche Nnaji Arrested at Abuja Airport Over Alleged Certificate Forgery Probe

The immediate past Minister of Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, has been arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja, shortly after arriving from Enugu on Wednesday, amid an ongoing investigation into alleged certificate forgery.

Security and airport sources said the former minister was taken into custody upon arrival and is expected to be handed over to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for further interrogation.

The arrest is connected to a long-running investigation into allegations that Mr Nnaji presented questionable academic and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) credentials during his ministerial screening and confirmation process in 2023.

He is alleged to have submitted a forged University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) degree certificate and NYSC discharge certificate to the Presidency, the Senate, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and security agencies during his appointment screening.

The ICPC had reportedly been tracking the former minister following his resignation from office last year, after investigations into the alleged forgery intensified.

A Federal High Court in Abuja had earlier granted the anti-graft agency permission to arrest and declare him wanted after he repeatedly failed to honour invitations for questioning.

Court filings reportedly showed that investigators linked him to alleged falsification of academic documents, prompting a formal order for his arrest and public declaration as a wanted person.

Mr Nnaji had previously denied allegations of wrongdoing and dismissed reports of the court order as inaccurate. However, he later filed an appeal challenging the arrest order at the Court of Appeal in Abuja.

He is expected to be formally interrogated by investigators in the coming days as part of the ongoing probe into the allegations.