Uche Nnaji finally arrested at Abuja airport — ICPC confirms

The former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, has been arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. The ICPC spokesperson John Odey confirmed this in a statement on Wednesday night, saying Nnaji was picked up with help from SSS operatives as he arrived from Enugu on a chartered flight. This is the same man who has been dodging invitations for months after Premium Times exposed how he forged his UNN degree and NYSC certificates.

Let me break down what this man did. He submitted a fake UNN degree certificate to President Tinubu and the Nigerian Senate during his ministerial screening in 2023. When UNN confirmed he never graduated — he was admitted in 1981 but never finished — he ran to court to block the university from releasing his records. NYSC also disowned his discharge certificate. He resigned three days after the investigation came out, but instead of facing the music, he filed an appeal against the arrest order on June 18 while claiming the order did not exist.

The question I keep asking is simple: if a man can forge documents to become a minister, what else did he do while in office? He was in charge of Innovation, Science and Technology — a ministry that handles policies affecting our future. The ICPC says investigations will continue, but we have seen how these things end in Nigeria. A legal practitioner Liborous Oshoma said people like Nnaji should be prosecuted and banned from holding public office. Will this actually happen or will he walk away with a slap on the wrist?