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From Godwin Tsa,Abuja
Former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, is set to be arraigned before the Federal High Court, Abuja, today on a six-count charge bordering on certificate forgery and money laundering.
Nnaji will be arraigned before Justice Abdulmalik Joyce by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), which is prosecuting him.
Sources close to the investigation said the arraignment follows the conclusion of ICPC’s probe into a certificate forgery scandal involving the former minister and the subsequent filing of criminal charges against him.
The charges were filed five days after Nnaji’s arrest on July 1 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, where he was picked up on arrival from Enugu via a chartered flight. His arrest followed a two-year investigation, first reported in the media in October last year, which alleged that Nnaji forged his University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) degree and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificates and submitted them to President Bola Tinubu and the Senate during his ministerial confirmation in 2023. A copy of the charge sheet obtained by Daily Sun detailed the allegations against Nnaji.
The six counts
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“Count one accuses Nnaji of taking possession of N29,578,466.67 through his Fidelity Bank account as salary and allowances while serving as minister, despite reasonably knowing the funds formed part of proceeds of corruption and fraud — an offence under Section 18(2)(d), punishable under Section 18(3), of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
“Count two alleges he used his ministerial office to confer corrupt advantage on himself during the same period, contrary to Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
“Count three alleges that, intending to mislead the Federal Government, Nnaji knowingly presented a false Certificate of National Service (No. A231309) to secure his ministerial appointment, contrary to Section 17(1)(c) of the Corrupt Practices Act.
“Count four alleges that in August 2023, he knowingly presented a false Microbiology/Biochemistry degree certificate (No. 004501) to the government, in violation of the same section of the Act.
“Count five alleges that around May 1986, Nnaji knowingly produced and used as genuine a false Certificate of National Service (No. A231309), contrary to Section 363 and punishable under Section 354 of the Penal Code.
“Count six names him as Geoffrey Nnaji Uchechukwu, 63, of Plot 1855, Mahathir Mohammed Street, Asokoro, Abuja, and alleges he knowingly produced and used as genuine a false University Degree Certificate in Microbiology/Biochemistry (No. 004501), purportedly issued by UNN around July 1985, an offence contrary to Section 363 and punishable under Section 364 of the Penal Code.
