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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
A prosecution witness, yesterday, told Justice Joyce Abdulmalik that both the University of Nigeria, Nsuka (UNN) and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) had disowned the certificates presented in the name of former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Geoffrey Uche Nnaji, who is standing trial for alleged certificate forgery.
The witness, SP Yakubu Ibrahim, a police officer attached to the ICPC, gave his evidence-in-chief while being led by the prosecuting counsel, Mr J.A. Mumini, SAN.
Ibrahim said his team was assigned to investigate after the commission received two separate petitions alleging certificate forgery against Nnaji.
The chairman of the special task force then directed an investigation, and the ICPC requested documents from the National Assembly, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), UNN, and the NYSC.
He said the Clerk of the Senate forwarded Nnaji’s NYSC certificate and his BSc certificate in Microbiology and Biochemistry to the commission. The witness told the court that the NYSC replied that the certificate purportedly issued by the corps did not originate from it. He said UNN, for its part, stated that Nnaji failed to obtain the grades required for the award of the certificate.
Citing the university’s letter, Ibrahim said a student who failed four times was disqualified. He said Nnaji failed at two stages and did not sit the examination at the third stage for medical reasons. The letter added that he proceeded to write a supplementary examination for which he had not registered.
Ibrahim further testified that UNN confirmed that the BSc certificate attributed to Nnaji was not issued by the university. The witness said documents obtained from the SGF’s office, including a pay slip, led the commission to request Nnaji’s bank statement. The statement, he said, showed that Nnaji received N29.5 million in salary as minister before he resigned.
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Ibrahim identified letters sent to the Clerk of the Senate, the SGF, UNN, the NYSC, the bank, and Nnaji, all of which were tendered in evidence. He also said Nnaji failed to honour the commission’s invitation to answer questions on the petitions, prompting the ICPC to involve the Department of State Services (DSS). The DSS arrested Nnaji on July 1, he said.
Nnaji’s counsel, Mr Wole Olanipekun, SAN, said he would reserve his objection to the admissibility of the documents until the appropriate stage, if necessary.
In a short ruling, Justice Abdulmalik admitted the documents in evidence but held that objections to their admissibility would be taken at the final address stage.
Under cross-examination by Olanipekun, Ibrahim admitted that he did not visit UNN during his investigation. He said he did not know how many campuses the university had or the faculty from which Nnaji graduated. Asked whether he interviewed any past or present staff of the university, he said he spoke to a registrar named Ngozi, whose surname he could not recall.
The witness also said he saw a UNN letter directing the withdrawal of Nnaji’s admission. Olanipekun, however, drew his attention to another letter, dated March 18, 1985, which rescinded the earlier withdrawal letter of November 7, 1984.
With the defence having no further questions, the prosecution asked for an adjournment to call another witness. Justice Abdulmalik adjourned the matter until November 5 for continuation of trial.
Nnaji was arraigned on a six-count charge bordering on alleged certificate forgery, money laundering, and abuse of office, to which he pleaded not guilty. The ICPC alleged that he presented forged UNN degree and NYSC certificates to support his ministerial appointment in 2023. The commission also accused him of receiving about N29.58 million in salaries and allowances as minister, allegedly linked to proceeds of unlawful acts.
He was admitted to bail in the sum of N20 million with one surety and ordered to deposit his international passport with the court.
