A senior lawyer and human rights advocate, Liborous Oshoma, has urged the Federal Government to recover all salaries and allowances paid to former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji, following his arrest by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over alleged certificate forgery.
Oshoma also called for the immediate prosecution of the former minister, arguing that the allegations against him strike at the credibility of public office and must not be treated with leniency.
Nnaji is currently being investigated by the ICPC over allegations that he forged a degree certificate from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), and a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate allegedly used during his Senate confirmation as a minister in 2023.
The anti-graft agency confirmed that it took the former minister into custody after he was arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) pursuant to a warrant issued by a Federal High Court in Abuja over his alleged refusal to honour repeated invitations for questioning.
Reacting to the development during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Oshoma criticised what he described as the delayed response to the allegations, blaming what he called the culture of preferential treatment for politically exposed persons.
He said it was “the arrogance of a typical Nigerian politician” that allegedly made Nnaji ignore the ICPC’s invitations despite the seriousness of the allegations.
The senior lawyer recalled that the former minister had earlier sued the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, accusing the institution of unlawfully altering his certificate and releasing information to Premium Times.
According to Oshoma, Nnaji also petitioned the Minister of Education, leading to the constitution of a 32-member investigative panel.
“After the investigation, they indicted him and established that truly the degree certificate was not only forged, but that his NYSC certificate was also forged,” he said.
He urged the Attorney-General of the Federation to personally ensure the case is prosecuted without delay, warning that anything short of decisive action would damage the government’s credibility.
“So, if the APC wants to show that they are not a party inhabited by certificate forgers or condoning forgery, this is one of the opportunities to prosecute. We need to see prosecution immediately,” Oshoma said.
He further argued that the Federal Government should recover all public funds paid to Nnaji during his tenure as minister.
“In addition, if you used all of these certificates to collect an appointment from the Federal Government and all through that time you drew salaries and allowances from office under the pretext that you truly graduated from that university, shouldn’t it be normal and commonsensical that the Federal Government should be asking that you return those monies?
“Another question now is that the Federal Government now has to look at the fact that since he was not forthcoming on an issue as basic as his certificates,” he added.
Dismissing suggestions that the former minister’s arrest was politically motivated or linked to his reported governorship ambition, Oshoma maintained that the allegations were self-inflicted.
“Whether politics is involved, whether opponents want to latch on to his alleged certificate forgery, is entirely left to him because a man who brought ant-infested wood to his house invited chickens to be his playmates.
“My call to the President is that he should not allow all these powerful people in government to intervene so as to give this man a soft landing because once that happens, it will boomerang on the President,” he warned.
Meanwhile, the Network of Advocacy for Positive Impact Initiative (NAPII) cautioned against politicising the investigation, insisting that the case should be allowed to proceed strictly on its legal merits.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Thursday, the group’s Programme Manager, William Smith Bassey, said allegations of certificate forgery against a former cabinet member demanded transparency and accountability.
“Allegations of this magnitude cannot and should not be dismissed as ordinary political controversies,” Bassey said.
“The allegations strike at the very heart of public trust because forgery is not a mere administrative irregularity; it is a criminal offence that undermines the rule of law, destroys meritocracy, devalues genuine academic achievements, and erodes confidence in public institutions.
“Therefore, the ICPC must be allowed to conduct a thorough, professional, impartial, and evidence-based investigation without political interference, intimidation, or selective application of the law.
“Accountability loses its meaning when justice is selective. The rule of law must prevail over the rule of influence. Integrity must triumph over impunity. Truth must prevail over deception,” he added.
The calls come as the ICPC continues its investigation into the allegations against the former minister, whose arrest followed a court-issued warrant after he allegedly failed to honour multiple invitations from the anti-corruption agency.
