Nigeria's Minister of Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, is at the center of a profound certificate forgery scandal, facing widespread allegations that he presented forged academic and national service credentials for his ministerial appointment in 2023. These accusations, which have persisted since July 2023 when President Bola Tinubu first nominated him, were brought to light by a meticulous two-year investigation conducted by PREMIUM TIMES, which conclusively revealed the degree certificate from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate in his possession to be outright forgeries.

The PREMIUM TIMES investigation established that Mr. Nnaji allegedly forged a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology/Biochemistry with Second Class Honours (Lower Division) purportedly awarded by UNN in July 1985. Critics have long maintained that Nnaji never completed his university education. This extensive examination by PREMIUM TIMES found the documents submitted to President Bola Tinubu, the Nigerian Senate, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and the State Security Service, to be fake.

Adding a dramatic turn to the controversy, Mr. Nnaji instituted a civil suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking to restrain UNN and its officials from tampering with his academic records and to compel them to release his academic transcript. During a hearing presided over by Justice Hauwa Yilwa, Nnaji’s lead lawyer, Sebastian Hon (SAN), expressed frustration over the PREMIUM TIMES reportage, arguing that the university had failed to maintain the status quo after being served court papers by issuing a letter to the newspaper disowning Nnaji's graduation. Despite these legal maneuvers, Justice Yilwa granted some of Nnaji's prayers but declined to issue any injunctive order against the defendants, adjourning the case.

Crucially, UNN’s stance on Nnaji’s academic status has evolved and solidified. While an earlier letter from Registrar Celine Nnebedum in December 2023 had erroneously confirmed Nnaji’s graduation to People's Gazette, she later recanted this in a May 2025 letter to the Public Complaints Commission, stating that Nnaji’s name was not found in the 1985 graduation records. Furthermore, UNN Vice-Chancellor Simon Ortuanya definitively confirmed in an October 2025 letter to PREMIUM TIMES that Mr. Nnaji did not complete his studies and was never awarded a degree by the institution. Perhaps the most