Manny Ita –
An investigative panel set up by Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has praised the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Simon Ortuanya, and a former Acting Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Oguejiofor Ujam, for their role in exposing the certificate forgery scandal involving former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji.
The seven-member investigative panel was constituted on 23 November 2025 following a petition filed by Nnaji against the UNN leadership after a two-year investigation by Premium Times alleged that the former minister forged his university degree and National Youth Service Corps certificates.
According to the panel’s report submitted to the education ministry in December 2025, Ortuanya and Ujam acted within established procedures and helped clarify inconsistencies in official communications from the university regarding Nnaji’s academic records.
The panel was chaired by Rakiya Gambo Ilyasu, Director of the University Education Department at the Federal Ministry of Education, while James Ocheido served as its secretary. Other members included officials from various departments of the ministry as well as a representative of the National Universities Commission.
The panel said it adopted “documentary review, interviews, verification, and technical audit as its methodological approach” in conducting the investigation. As part of its work, members visited the university campus in Nsukka, examined institutional records and held meetings with several university officials, including the vice-chancellor, the former acting vice-chancellor, the registrar and records unit personnel.
According to the report, the panel also inspected Nnaji’s academic file and reviewed internal correspondence issued by the university in 2023 and 2025. It said it examined Senate-approved graduation lists, convocation archives, registry movement logs, transcript requests and electronic access records to verify the authenticity of documents associated with the case.
“The members of the panel arrived (UNN) in Nsukka on Sunday, being 23rd November, 2025. On Monday, 24th November, the panel paid a courtesy visit to the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Simon Ortuanya and availed him with the purpose of the visit and proceeded to the venue the university provided for panel to use,” the report stated.
The investigation was triggered by a petition dated 14 October 2025 in which Nnaji accused the UNN leadership of unethical disclosure, document tampering and political manipulation of his academic records.
In the petition, the former minister alleged that the vice-chancellor and the former acting vice-chancellor issued forged or unauthorised correspondence and improperly accessed his academic file while facilitating media reports about his academic history.
He also argued that the vice-chancellor’s response to a Freedom of Information request from Premium Times, which confirmed that he did not graduate from the university, constituted an unauthorised disclosure of confidential academic data.
However, the panel concluded that Ortuanya’s response complied fully with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act and followed established institutional procedures.
“There is no evidence of external directives, political influence, unauthorised inputs, or bypassing of procedural steps. The approval process complied with internal procedures, FOI obligations, and legal advice. All steps were documented and traceable,” the panel stated.
The panel further said there was no evidence that internal drafts or official correspondence were leaked or altered during the process.
“The letter reached Premium Times through a formal, lawful FOI transmission and not through any unauthorised or clandestine channel,” the report said, adding that the disclosure therefore did not constitute a breach of confidentiality.
During its findings, the panel also addressed conflicting letters previously issued by the university regarding Nnaji’s academic status. In December 2023, the UNN registrar had informed an online publication that the former minister graduated from the institution in July 1985.
However, in another correspondence sent to the Public Complaints Commission in May 2025, the registrar recanted the earlier statement, explaining that the university could not find Nnaji’s name in the graduation records for that year.
Ujam was serving as acting vice-chancellor when the university responded to the Public Complaints Commission, while Ortuanya later confirmed the same position in response to the media inquiry.
The panel said the actions of both officials helped resolve the contradiction in the earlier communications.
“These two officers should be commended for their dogged ability to protect the truth of restoring the dignity of man, which is the motto of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka,” the panel said.
The report also confirmed earlier investigative findings that Nnaji forged the degree certificate he presented as part of his credentials when he was nominated as a minister.
According to the panel, a review of the Senate-approved graduation list for 1985 and Nnaji’s personal student records showed that his name did not appear among graduates for that year.
Investigators said they also examined correspondence between Nnaji and the university’s registry department between November 1985 and May 1986 concerning a failed course titled MCB 431 (Virology).
In one of the documents reviewed by the panel, Nnaji reportedly wrote a handwritten letter dated 19 May 1986 requesting permission to retake the failed course, explaining that he missed the earlier examination scheduled for April 1986 due to illness and attaching a medical report.
Despite the request, the panel stated that it found no record indicating that he subsequently completed the failed course.
“The panel was unable to find any record of him (Nnaji) having taken the failed course,” the report stated.
The investigators said the absence of such records raised serious questions about how Nnaji later obtained a certificate dated July 1985, which he submitted to Bola Tinubu during his ministerial appointment process and to the Nigerian Senate for confirmation.
The panel’s findings aligned with earlier investigative reports that exposed the alleged forgery, a controversy that eventually led to Nnaji’s resignation from office shortly after the revelations became public.
The scandal has since attracted widespread calls for further legal action against the former minister, while the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission is reported to be investigating the matter to determine whether criminal prosecution may follow.
