The Federal High Court in Abuja has permitted former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, to retrieve his international passport for a medical trip outside Nigeria.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik approved the request on Monday after Nnaji’s lawyer, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Ogwu Onoja, asked the court to lift the earlier restriction on the document. The judge granted the application and scheduled October 26 for the next hearing in the case.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) brought Nnaji before the court on July 13 over six charges linked to alleged certificate forgery, false declarations and corruption.He pleaded not guilty.
The commission claims Nnaji collected ₦29,578,466.67 in salaries and allowances from August 2023 to October 2025 during his tenure as minister. It described the payments as proceeds connected to unlawful conduct under the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
More Allegations
The ICPC further alleged that Nnaji exploited his public office to obtain an improper benefit by accepting the payments. Four other counts relate to the alleged creation and use of fraudulent documents.
According to the commission, Nnaji submitted a falsified National Youth Service Corps certificate, numbered A231309, as part of the paperwork for his appointment as minister. It also accused him of presenting a purported University of Nigeria, Nsukka certificate in Microbiology/Biochemistry, marked Certificate No. 004501, despite allegedly knowing that it was not genuine.
Nnaji has rejected the accusations by entering a plea of not guilty. The allegations have yet to be proven in court. During an earlier hearing, Justice Abdulmalik granted him bail set at ₦20 million, backed by one surety for the same amount. The surety must be a federal civil servant of at least Grade Level 15.
The court had previously directed Nnaji to deposit his international passport and other travel documents while the case was pending.
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