DSS Arrests Former Minister Uche Nnaji

Operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS, on Wednesday arrested a former Minister of Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.

Nnaji was reportedly about to board a private jet to Abuja when he was picked up by DSS operatives.

Security sources said the former minister, who resigned in October 2025 under controversial circumstances, was arrested at the request of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission over allegations of certificate forgery.

He was later handed over to the anti-graft agency.

According to sources, the ICPC had extended several invitations to Nnaji following petitions relating to how he managed the ministry while in office.

The anti-graft agency was said to have contacted the DSS to assist in arresting him after the invitations.

Nnaji resigned as minister on October 7, 2025, following controversy over his certificates from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and the National Youth Service Corps.

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 ongoing judicial proceedings.

He also described the allegations against him as politically motivated.

In November 2025, Nnaji filed a suit before 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.

He argued that the university’s refusal to release the transcript, despite his student file allegedly being located in the Records Unit among other graduated students from the 1985 set, had unnecessarily prolonged the controversy.

The controversy took a fresh turn when the former minister later emerged as the Peoples Democratic Party candidate for the 2027 governorship election in Enugu State.

His arrest on Wednesday is expected to heighten public interest in the certificate forgery allegations and the political developments surrounding his governorship ambition.