Ex-minister Nnaji’s certificate forged, NYSC witness tells court

Former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji.

The National Youth Service Corps has identified four irregularities in a certificate linked to former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, insisting that the document was not issued by the corps.

An Assistant Director in the NYSC Department of Certification, Yusuf Jumare, disclosed this on Tuesday while testifying as the second prosecution witness in the alleged certificate forgery and money laundering case against Nnaji before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Jumare, who appeared before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, said an investigation conducted by his department following a request from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission established that the certificate was fake.

The ICPC is prosecuting Nnaji in charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/389/2026 over allegations bordering on certificate forgery and money laundering.

The former minister, who resigned from President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet following the controversy surrounding his academic credentials, is the Peoples Democratic Party candidate in the forthcoming Enugu State governorship election.

Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Jimoh Abdulmumuni (SAN), the witness identified four discrepancies which, according to him, established that the certificate purportedly issued to Nnaji was not an authentic NYSC document.

He told the court that the certificate number, which purportedly indicated that it was issued in 1985, carried the prefix ‘A’, whereas the NYSC did not introduce the prefix until 1990.

The witness also said the call-up number on the document contained four digits, ‘0137’, instead of the five digits used by the corps in 1985.

Jumare further faulted the duration of service stated on the certificate, explaining that it indicated 13 months instead of the statutory 12-month service period.

The fourth discrepancy, he said, concerned the designation of the NYSC official who purportedly signed the certificate.

According to him, the head of the corps was designated ‘Director’ during the period Nnaji claimed to have completed his national service, but the certificate was signed by an official described as a ‘National General’.

The prosecution subsequently tendered copies of correspondence between the ICPC and the NYSC concerning the disputed certificate.

The documents were admitted in evidence, although the defence indicated that it would reserve its objections to their admissibility until a later stage, explaining that it had not been served with the documents.

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The prosecution counsel told the court that he had only recently taken over the case and undertook to make the documents available to the defence.

During cross-examination by Bode Olanipekun (SAN), counsel for the defendant, Jumare maintained that the certificate was not issued by the NYSC.

He explained that his department was the custodian of all certificates issued by the corps and that such documents were presented to corps members upon successful completion of their service year.

The witness also told the court that call-up letters were transmitted to universities, where graduates collected them, adding that universities were responsible for forwarding the names of eligible graduates to the NYSC for mobilisation.

However, under further questioning, Jumare admitted that he did not establish whether Nnaji had ever been issued a certificate by the corps.

The latest testimony comes barely a week after an ICPC investigator, SP Yakubu Ibrahim, told the same court that both the NYSC and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, had disowned certificates attributed to the former minister.

Ibrahim had testified that the university informed the commission that Nnaji did not meet the academic requirements for the award of the Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology and Biochemistry attributed to him.

The investigator also told the court that UNN confirmed that the degree certificate was not issued by the institution.

He further disclosed that the ICPC’s investigation showed that Nnaji received about N29.5m in salaries and allowances during his tenure as minister before his resignation.

The commission had alleged that Nnaji presented forged academic and NYSC certificates to support his appointment as minister in 2023 and subsequently received public funds through the appointment.

The former minister was arraigned on a six-count charge bordering on alleged certificate forgery, money laundering and abuse of office. He pleaded not guilty to all the counts.

Justice Abdulmalik adjourned the case until November 30 for continuation of the cross-examination of Jumare and January 29, 2027, for continuation of the trial.