The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has obtained a Federal High Court arrest warrant against former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology Uche Nnaji after he repeatedly failed to honor the commission’s invitations for questioning over allegations that he forged the academic credentials and National Youth Service Corps certificate he submitted during his ministerial screening and confirmation.
Justice presiding over the matter in Abuja granted all orders sought by the commission in a ruling on the ex parte motion filed on June 4, including permission to declare Nnaji wanted across national newspapers, social media platforms, and other media, the issuance of a bench warrant of arrest, and a direction that commission operatives, other enforcement agents, and private citizens were authorized to identify, apprehend, and hand him over to the ICPC for investigation. The court ordered that the warrant would remain active until Nnaji was physically arrested.
ICPC counsel Osuobeni Akponimisingha told the court that the commission had extended multiple invitations to Nnaji which he had declined to honor, making the warrant application necessary to compel his appearance. The commission’s ex parte motion was dated June 3 and supported by an affidavit deposed by a commission official.
Nnaji had resigned from the ministerial position following the public emergence of the credential forgery allegations. He had subsequently obtained the Peoples Democratic Party governorship ticket for Enugu State for the 2027 election, a development that made the outstanding criminal investigation against him a significant complication for both his personal political ambitions and for the party that chose to field him.
