SSS Ignored NYSC Alert, Misled Senate in Confirming Enugu’s Uche Nnaji as Minister with Forged Certificate

Shortly after President Bola Tinubu picked Geoffrey Uchechukwu Nnaji to serve on his cabinet as one of the first batch of ministerial nominations, the State Security Service sought to verify the nominee’s national service certificate with the federal institution that purportedly awarded it.

After contacting the National Youth Service Corps to authenticate the certificate presented by Mr Nnaji, the SSS was immediately informed that the document was bogus, Pecohub found through records and officials familiar with the matter. 

Per tradition, the SSS should have alerted the presidency and other institutions managing the nomination process, especially the Nigerian Senate, that Mr Nnaji’s certificate was fake and that he was, consequently, ineligible to be confirmed as a minister of the federal republic.

Instead, the SSS, Nigeria’s preeminent domestic intelligence outfit tasked with fortifying the integrity of security and administrative processes across all tiers of government, hushed up the forgery and allowed Mr Nnaji’s nomination to proceed, officials aware of the matter said. 

On August 7, 2023, Mr Nnaji was confirmed as the minister from Enugu, alongside 44 other cabinet ministers whose nominations were unveiled by the Senate two weeks earlier on July 7. He was subsequently assigned to the newly-created Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, where he has been tasked with overseeing Nigeria’s hi-tech transformation amidst the global race for artificial intelligence. 

The SSS’ request itself was part of an expansive background check that the agency routinely conducts following a candidate’s nomination into a sensitive government position. But how Mr Nnaji enlisted agents of Nigeria’s domestic intelligence to help him cover up two probable federal infractions, the forging of a government document and the tendering thereof before the Nigerian Senate, remained unclear. 

For several months as Pecohub painstakingly examined Mr Nnaji’s national service certificate, the minister avoided calls, text messages and letters asking him to come clean about what transpired for the purpose of this story. 

His office also rebuffed attempts to interview him in person, and two administration colleagues who tried to elicit his response on behalf of Pecohub said he showed no intention of engaging them on the matter. 

Authorised signatory

Whereas Mr Nnaji’s certificate manifests the same defeating characteristics that often undercut falsified documents: chronological and calligraphic blunders, anyone not keen on its affirming features, especially lawmakers who are inclined to blow past the boring cornucopia of nominees’ credentials, could deem the document genuine at first glance. 

However, once the document is further scrutinised, the minister’s forgery becomes so poorly done that it doesn’t require extra dedication to spot its duplicity, our findings showed. 

Mr Nnaji distributed copies of his purported credentials to senators shortly after he was nominated. The package, obtained by Pecohub, included his WAEC certificate, degree from UNN, tax records, and filings with the Code of Conduct Bureau, among others. While there are questions about his degree certificate, it is the NYSC document that Pecohub was able to categorically determine was falsified. 

The certificate has been issued to eligible Nigerian graduates since 1973 as part of reconstruction efforts the country embarked upon following a prolonged civil war that saw millions of lives lost and left the country in ruins from 1967 to 1970. 

Since the scheme began, it has been observed for one calendar year only. All certificates issued since 1974 have indicated a duration of one-year service. For instance, a fresh graduate who joined the NYSC on January 1, 1985, graduated on December 31, 1985. If enrolled on December 31, 1985, the person would have passed out on December 30, 1986. 

Yet, in one manifest indicator of its sham, Mr Nnaji’s certificate showed he spent more than one year in service. It showed that the politician enrolled on April 16, 1985, and passed out on May 15, 1986. 

Going by the duration on Mr Nnaji’s certificate, with serial number A231309, the Enugu politician served one year and one month — or 13 months — a crucial first sign that his certificate was falsified. 

Likewise, Mr Nnaji’s certificate, which was purportedly issued in 1986, carried the signature of Animashaun Braimoh, a Nigerian Army colonel who was not appointed to lead the NYSC until January 1988.

Pecohub extensive findings showed all certificates issued in 1986 were signed by Etuk Akpan, who was appointed to lead the NYSC from January 1984 to December 1987.