Former Minister of Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, was arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) on Wednesday morning at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu.
Nnaji was preparing to board a private jet to Abuja when DSS officers arrested him.
Security sources said the arrest was carried out at the request of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over claims of certificate forgery. He was later handed over to the anti-graft agency.
The sources said the ICPC had sent several invitations to the former minister after receiving petitions about how he ran the ministry. The commission then asked the DSS to help arrest him.
Nnaji stepped down as minister on October 7, 2025, after controversy surrounded his certificates from the University of Nigeria (UNN) and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
At the time, he said his resignation was “not an admission of guilt, but rather a principled decision to respect the sanctity of due process” regarding judicial proceedings.
He also described the allegations as politically motivated. In November 2025, he filed a suit at the Federal High Court to compel the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and its Vice Chancellor, Prof. Simon Ortuanya, to release his official academic transcript.
Nnaji maintained that the university’s refusal to release the transcript, even though his student file was found in the Records Unit alongside those of other graduates from his 1985 set, had kept the controversy alive longer than necessary.
The controversy took another turn when the former minister emerged as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the 2027 Enugu State governorship election.
