Uche Nnaji, Nigeria’s Minister of Science and Technology, has confessed under oath that the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) never awarded him a degree certificate.
This admission emerged from court filings following an investigative piece by Premium Times, which accused Nnaji of submitting falsified academic credentials to President Bola Tinubu and the Senate during his ministerial confirmation process.
Since his nomination in July 2023, Nnaji has been dogged by allegations of certificate forgery. He revealed this information in a legal action brought before Justice Hauwa Yilwa at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The lawsuit names the Minister of Education, the National Universities Commission (NUC), UNN, its Vice-Chancellor Professor Simon Ortuanya, Registrar and former Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Oguenjiofor Ujam, as well as the University Senate as defendants.
In an ex parte motion, Nnaji requested the court’s permission to issue prerogative writs to prevent the university and its officials from tampering with his academic records. He also sought a mandamus order compelling UNN to release his academic transcript and directed the Minister of Education and NUC to ensure compliance.
Additionally, the minister asked for an interim injunction to bar the university from modifying his records until the main suit is resolved.
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On September 22, Justice Yilwa granted three of Nnaji’s requests but declined to impose the injunction against the defendants. The hearing was postponed to October 6 for continuation.
In his 34-paragraph affidavit, Nnaji admitted he never received a degree certificate from UNN.
He accused university officials of being uncooperative in the matter.
Nnaji stated that he enrolled at UNN in 1981 to study Microbiology/Biochemistry and completed the course in 1985. In paragraph 13 of his affidavit, he declared:
“Although I have yet to collect my certificate from the 3rd Defendant (UNN), mainly due to the uncooperative stance of the 3rd-5th Defendants (UNN, its Vice-Chancellor, and Registrar), the 3rd Defendant issued a letter dated 21st December 2023 to People’s Gazette (attention: Samuel Ogundipe) confirming, among other things:
‘This is to confirm that Geoffrey Uchechukwu Nnaji, registration number 1981/30725, was admitted in 1981 to study Microbiology/Biochemistry at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Mr. Geoffrey Uchechukwu Nnaji graduated in July 1985 with a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology/Biochemistry, Second Class (Hons.) Lower Division.'”
Despite this official statement, doubts remain regarding the legitimacy of the academic documents Nnaji presented to the Presidency and Senate.
Nnaji was part of the initial group of 28 ministerial nominees submitted by President Tinubu to the Senate in July 2023, shortly after taking office.