Nnaji’s certificate forgery trial: UNN, NYSC disown certificates, witness says

A prosecution witness on Monday told the Federal High Court in Abuja that the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) disowned certificates linked to former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology Geoffrey Nnaji, Premium Times reports.

The witness, Yakubu Ibrahim, a superintendent of police with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), said his team investigated after the commission received two petitions alleging certificate forgery. The ICPC is prosecuting Nnaji, now the PDP’s 2027 governorship candidate in Enugu State, on certificate forgery and money laundering charges. He has pleaded not guilty.

Ibrahim said the NYSC told the commission that the certificate attributed to it was not issued by the corps. He said UNN replied that Nnaji did not obtain the required grades, failing at two stages and skipping the third for medical reasons, and that it did not issue the BSc certificate in Microbiology and Biochemistry linked to him.

He added that a bank statement showed Nnaji received N29.5 million in salary as minister before he resigned. He said Nnaji did not honour the commission’s invitation, and the DSS arrested him on 1 July.

Under cross-examination by Wole Olanipekun, SAN, Ibrahim said he did not visit UNN, and did not know how many campuses it has or the faculty Nnaji graduated from. He said he saw a UNN letter withdrawing Nnaji’s admission, but Olanipekun showed another letter, dated 18 March 1985, which rescinded the 7 November 1984 withdrawal.

Judge Joyce Abdulmalik admitted the documents in evidence but reserved objections to their admissibility until the final address. She adjourned the trial until 5 November.