Alleged certificate forgery: DSS nabs ex-minister Uche Nnaji at Enugu airport

Former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, has been arrested over allegations of certificate forgery, marking a fresh twist in a case that prompted his resignation from President Bola Tinubu’s administration in 2025.

It was gathered that Nnaji was apprehended by the operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, while preparing to board a chartered flight to Abuja on Wednesday, July 1, 2026.

The former minister would be handed over to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), which is investigating allegations that Nnaji submitted forged academic credentials during his appointment as a minister.

The arrest followed a Federal High Court ruling in Abuja issued weeks ago, authorising the ICPC to arrest the former minister after the agency alleged that he repeatedly failed to honour invitations for questioning.

The court also empowered the anti-graft agency to declare the former minister wanted through newspapers, social media platforms and other channels should efforts to arrest him prove unsuccessful.

The allegations stem from reports published in October 2025 claiming that Nnaji forged his bachelor’s degree certificate from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), and his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate.

The documents were reportedly submitted to Tinubu and the Senate during Nnaji’s ministerial screening and confirmation in 2023.

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They were also said to have formed part of the credentials presented to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the DSS.

Nnaji resigned from office on October 8, 2025, insisting that his decision was intended to protect the integrity of the investigative process and did not amount to an admission of the allegations against him.

After the court issued the arrest order, the former minister dismissed reports of the warrant as a “media trial.”

However, court records later showed that he had filed an appeal challenging the ruling.

Neither the former minister nor the ICPC had issued an official statement on the arrest as of press time.