{"id":8449,"date":"2025-10-10T05:37:19","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T05:37:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/?p=8449"},"modified":"2025-10-10T05:38:31","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T05:38:31","slug":"nba-atiku-senior-lawyers-demand-probe-of-ex-minister-uche-nnaji-over-certificate-forgery-allegations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/10\/nba-atiku-senior-lawyers-demand-probe-of-ex-minister-uche-nnaji-over-certificate-forgery-allegations\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA, Atiku, Senior Lawyers Demand Probe of Ex-Minister Uche Nnaji Over Certificate Forgery Allegations"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA)<\/strong>, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar<\/strong>, and several Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs)<\/strong> have called on the federal government<\/strong> to thoroughly investigate the certificate forgery allegations against the former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

They insisted that his resignation should not mark the end of the matter, stressing that forgery is a criminal offence<\/strong> that cannot be resolved by merely stepping down from office.<\/p>\n

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NBA: Resignation Doesn\u2019t Erase Criminal Liability<\/strong><\/h3>\n

NBA President, Afam Osigwe (SAN)<\/strong>, described the allegations as \u201cgrave\u201d and urged the police and other law enforcement agencies to commence an immediate investigation.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIf the investigation confirms that he forged certificates to deceive the President or the National Assembly, he must be prosecuted. This matter must not be swept under the carpet,\u201d Osigwe said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

He emphasised that the resignation of a public official accused of forgery does not absolve them of criminal responsibility<\/strong>, adding that the process must be transparent and the findings made public.<\/p>\n

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Atiku: Tinubu\u2019s Government Promotes Forgery as State Policy<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar<\/strong> also condemned the incident, accusing the Tinubu administration<\/strong> of institutionalising forgery and deceit in public service.<\/p>\n

In a strongly worded statement, Atiku argued that Nnaji should have been dismissed and prosecuted<\/strong>, not allowed to resign quietly.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThis episode reflects a pattern\u2014a rot that begins from the top,\u201d he said. \u201cThe man who leads this country has himself faced unresolved controversies over his identity and academic records. When deception leads the nation, forgery becomes governance culture.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Atiku demanded an independent investigation into the credentials of all members of the Federal Executive Council<\/strong>, starting with President Tinubu himself.<\/p>\n

\n

Senior Lawyers: Prosecution Necessary to Restore Integrity<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Several SANs, including John Baiyeshea<\/strong>, Moses Ebute<\/strong>, and Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa<\/strong>, backed the call for a full-scale investigation.<\/p>\n

Baiyeshea noted that it is the police\u2019s constitutional duty<\/strong> to investigate and prosecute crimes, while Ebute stressed that resignation alone cannot cleanse the alleged offence.<\/p>\n

Adegboruwa warned:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cResignation should not be a get-out-of-jail-free card. Forgery is a criminal act. Anyone found guilty must face prosecution to deter others.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

However, George Ibrahim (SAN)<\/strong> disagreed, arguing that Nnaji\u2019s resignation was enough, suggesting political undertones behind the allegations since the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN)<\/strong> had reportedly cleared him in 2023.<\/p>\n

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Civil Society Groups Demand Accountability<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC)<\/strong> and HallowMace Foundation Africa<\/strong> joined the calls for accountability, urging a lifetime ban<\/strong> on Nnaji from holding public office.<\/p>\n

CISLAC\u2019s Executive Director, Auwal Musa (Rafsanjani)<\/strong>, said Nnaji only resigned due to public pressure, not honour.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cHe even went to court to stop the university from releasing his records. Such individuals should never be allowed to hold public office again,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

HallowMace Foundation also called for public apologies from the DSS and National Assembly<\/strong>, accusing them of failing in their vetting duties.<\/p>\n

\n

ADC: Tinubu\u2019s Weak Response Encourages Dishonesty<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The African Democratic Congress (ADC)<\/strong> described the President\u2019s acceptance of Nnaji\u2019s resignation as \u201cweak and disappointing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cBy letting him go quietly, Tinubu has shown he is unwilling to take a strong stand against corruption. This confirms the APC as a nest of certificate forgers,\u201d said Bolaji Abdullahi<\/strong>, ADC\u2019s National Publicity Secretary.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The ADC maintained that forgery is a criminal act, not a private offence<\/strong>, and urged law enforcement agencies to launch an independent probe<\/strong> to restore public trust.<\/p>\n

\n

Activists Demand Independent Panel<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Rivers-based activist Chetam Nwala<\/strong> and other civic voices urged the President to set up an independent investigative panel<\/strong> to examine the forgery claims.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThis saga exposes how compromised Nigeria\u2019s institutions have become. It mirrors the unresolved certificate controversy of President Tinubu himself. We must clean up the system,\u201d Nwala said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and several Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) have called on the federal government to thoroughly investigate the certificate forgery allegations against the former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji. They insisted that his resignation should not mark the end of the matter, stressing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8453,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[35,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8449"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8449"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8449\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8452,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8449\/revisions\/8452"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}