Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), on Wednesday morning, arrested former Minister of Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.
The former minister was about to board a private jet to Abuja when he was arrested.
Security sources said Nnaji, who resigned last October under controversial circumstances, was arrested by DSS officers on request by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over allegations of certificate forgery and later handed over to the Anti-Graft Agency.
According to the sources, the ICPC had extended several invitations to the former minister following petitions on how he managed his Ministry, and therefore contacted the DSS to assist in arresting him.
Nnaji resigned as minister on October 7, 2025, following the controversy which trail his certificates from the University of Nigeria (UNN) and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
He had said the decision to resign was “not an admission of guilt, but rather a principled decision to respect the sanctity of due process” regarding judicial proceedings.
He characterized the allegations as politically motivated and subsequently filed a lawsuit in November 2025 at the Federal High Court seeking to compel the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and its Vice Chancellor, Prof. Simon Ortuanya, to release his official academic transcript.
Nnaji argued that the university’s refusal to release the transcript, despite his student file being located in the Records Unit among other graduated students from his 1985 set, has prolonged the controversy unnecessarily.
There was a twist to the controversy when the former Minister emerged candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2027 governorship election in Enugu State.