A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted former Minister of Science and Technology Uche Nnaji N20 million bail after he denied a six-count certificate forgery charge brought by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
ICPC accuses Nnaji, who served in President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet from August 16, 2023 until his resignation on October 6, 2025, of forging his academic credentials — specifically a degree certificate from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN). The agency also alleges he presented a fake National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate during his 2023 ministerial screening.
Nnaji entered his not-guilty plea when the charges were read before trial judge Justice Joyce Abdulmalik on Monday.
His defence team, led by Chief James Onoja, SAN, applied for bail, and the court granted N20 million with one surety in the same amount. The surety must be a civil servant living in Abuja, not below grade level 15, and must swear an affidavit of means.
Justice Abdulmalik also ordered Nnaji to surrender his international passport and barred him from leaving Nigeria without the court’s permission. Trial begins July 21.
Security operatives had arrested the former minister at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on July 1 as he returned to the FCT. ICPC confirmed the arrest was to aid its investigation into the allegations against him.
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