A former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, has lastly filed an enchantment towards a court ruling which ordered his arrest over certificates forgery.
PREMIUM TIMES earlier exclusively reported in mid-June {that a} federal excessive court in Abuja ordered the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to arrest Mr Nnaji for investigation into his certificates forgery scandal.
The court ruling adopted an ex parte movement filed by the ICPC in a go well with marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1160/2026.
Apart from the arrest order, the court, in its ruling, additionally granted an order permitting the ICPC to declare Mr Nnaji wished in any nationwide newspaper, social media platforms or different medium.
The anti-graft company had instructed the court that the ex parte movement was in response to Mr Nnaji’s failure to honour invites which it prolonged to him for “investigative activities” over certificates forgery.
The ICPC’s invitation of Mr Nnaji adopted a painstaking two-year investigation published by PREMIUM TIMES in October final yr, which revealed that the then-minister cast his UNN diploma and NYSC certificates, which he submitted to President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian Senate throughout his ministerial affirmation in 2023.
Appeal after denials
Mr Nnaji filed the enchantment towards his arrest order earlier than the Court of Appeal Abuja on 18 June, in keeping with a discover of enchantment solely obtained by PREMIUM TIMES.
The former minister’s enchantment got here precisely 5 days after he denied the existence of such court order towards him. He described this newspaper’s report as a media “media trial.”
“We want to state unequivocally that Chief Nnaji isn’t in hiding and has by no means evaded any regulation enforcement company.
“We further wish to make it abundantly clear that neither Chief Uche Geoffrey Nnaji nor his legal team, led by Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, has received any invitation, summons, warrant, or correspondence whatsoever from the ICPC,” Mr Nnaji stated in a statement on 13 June by his spokesperson, Robert Ngwu.
“No such (court) process has been served at his Abuja or Enugu residences, both of which have been publicly known for decades.”
Also, Mr Nnaji had earlier claimed that he was neither invited nor underneath investigation by the ICPC.
However, PREMIUM TIMES exclusively reported on Wednesday {that a} doc and communications between him and the ICPC confirmed that the politician repeatedly rebuffed ICPC invites and failed to point out up for scheduled interview periods with the anti-graft company relating to his forgery scandal.
Nnaji’s floor of enchantment towards the court order
Mr Nnaji filed the enchantment by Adoga Moses, a litigation clerk within the regulation agency of the previous minister’s lead counsel, Wole Olanipekun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
According to the discover of enchantment, Mr Nnaji expressed his dissatisfaction with the “entire orders” granted by the federal excessive court.
The former minister highlighted 4 grounds for the enchantment towards the court order.
In his first floor, he argued that the federal excessive court “erred in law” by issuing the orders with out having the jurisdiction to take action.
Under the second floor, the politician contended that the decrease court didn’t adjust to provision of Section 84 of the Evidence Act (2011) by admitting a pc generated proof towards him upon which it issued the orders.
Section 84 (2) of the Act gives {that a} assertion contained in a doc produced by a pc is admissible as proof in court if, amongst different circumstances, the pc was working correctly when the report was produced or any malfunction didn’t have an effect on the accuracy of the report.
Section 84(4) of the Act additional requires a certificates of compliance, signed by a accountable particular person, figuring out the digital report and explaining the way it was produced.
According to the availability, the certificates of compliance is often tendered in court alongside any digital proof offered.
PREMIUM TIMES understands that Mr Nnaji was referring to the invitation letter which the ICPC forwarded to him by way of his WhatsApp numbers, e-mail tackle and textual content messages.
The ICPC had offered as proof to the court screenshots of WhatsApp chats and e-mail exhibiting that the anti-graft company forwarded the invitation letter to the previous minister which he reportedly ignored.
In his fourth floor, Mr Nnaji argued that the decrease court “erred in law and came to a wrong decision when it relied on unsubstantiated facts” earlier than it in making the ex parte orders.
“There was nothing earlier than the decrease court, establishing that the phone numbers and e-mail addresses to which the referenced messages/texts have been purportedly directed, belonged to the appellant.
“There was nothing before the lower court, showing a reply to any of the messages/texts purportedly sent to the numbers and email address contained therein,” he argued.
Under the fourth floor, Mr Nnaji additional contended that “the lower court erred in law and came to a wrong decision” when it acted on the ICPC’s alleged misrepresentation of info by issuing the orders towards him.
The former minister additional argued that the court relied on the ICPC’s deposition that he acquired the invitation letter from the anti-graft company on the idea of his reply to the WhatsApp message.
“Misrepresentation of facts is one of the grounds upon which an ex-parte order could be set aside,” he acknowledged.
Prayers
Mr Nnaji then requested the Court of Appeal to grant an order vacating the order of the federal excessive court after which strike out the ICPC’s go well with filed earlier than the decrease court.
In his movement on discover filed on the Federal High Court in Abuja, the politician prayed the court to grant an order staying the execution of the order of arrest towards him.
He additional appealed to the court to grant an injunction, restraining the federal authorities or the ICPC or their brokers from executing its order of arrest towards him.
The politician additional pleaded with the court to right away grant an order, suspending the execution of the arrest order pending the listening to and closing dedication of his enchantment towards the stated orders on the court of enchantment.
Mr Nnaji, who’s the governorship candidate of the Nyesom Wike-backed Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu State, instructed the enchantment court in his submitting that execution of the order of arrest towards him “will operate to keep the applicant (Mr Nnaji) out of circulation, thus, depriving him of the opportunity to continue with his campaign activities, towards the elections.”
The former minister additional contended that the refusal of the court to grant his utility “would negatively affect not just the person of the applicant (Mr Nnaji), but the Nigerian democratic process which is built of freedom of participation and choice of the electorate.”
Background
In October 2023, PREMIUM TIMES started investigating Mr Nnaji’s educational information.
The then-minister had submitted a level and NYSC certificates to President Tinubu and the Nigerian Senate throughout his ministerial affirmation in 2023.
He claimed he obtained a level certificates from UNN, the place he purportedly graduated in 1985.
Apparently disturbed that he was underneath scrutiny, Mr Nnaji filed a go well with on the Federal High Court in Abuja to dam each UNN and its vice-chancellor, Simon Ortuanya, a professor, from releasing his educational information.
Apart from the UNN and its vice-chancellor, the minister of training, the National Universities Commission, the college’s registrar, its former Acting Vice-Chancellor, Oguejiofo Ujam, a professor, and the Senate of the college have been listed as defendants within the go well with.
However, the politician, by his authorized group, lately utilized for an out-of-court settlement.
Before the then-minister might get hold of an injunction from the court, Mr Ortuanya had responded to PREMIUM TIMES’ Freedom of Information (FOI) letter, confirming that Mr Nnaji had cast his UNN diploma certificates.
The UNN registrar would shortly thereafter corroborate Mr Ortuanya’s place, indicating that though Mr Nnaji was admitted to the college in 1981, he neither graduated nor was issued any certificates.
NYSC authorities, in response to a separate FOI letter from PREMIUM TIMES, had disowned the discharge certificates in possession of the then-minister.
Mr Nnaji resigned from his place as minister three days after this newspaper revealed the investigation exposing how he cast his diploma and NYSC certificates.
READ ALSO: EXCLUSIVE: Despite denial, document confirms Uche Nnaji ignored multiple ICPC invitations over forgery
Many Nigerians had referred to as for Mr Nnaji’s prosecution, sustaining that his resignation was insufficient in gentle of his violations of assorted Nigerian legal guidelines, together with the Criminal Code Act.
Earlier this yr, a authorized practitioner, Liborous Oshoma, criticised the Nigerian authorities for failing to prosecute Mr Nnaji over the certificates forgery scandal, sustaining that folks like the previous minister “should be prosecuted and banned from holding public office to serve as a deterrent to others.”
Meanwhile, in March, this newspaper additionally exclusively reported that an investigative panel arrange by Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, discovered that Mr Nnaji certainly cast his diploma and NYSC certificates.
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that the previous minister “quietly” moved to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), underneath which he unsuccessfully contested the 2023 governorship election in Enugu State.
In late May, Mr Nnaji emerged because the governorship candidate of the Mr Wike-backed PDP faction forward of the 2027 common election.
Within the identical interval, this newspaper exclusively reported that Mr Nnaji was determined to change into governor with a view to, amongst different causes, get pleasure from immunity from prosecution if he wins the governorship ballot.