Nigeria for long has allowed high profile individuals to get away with crimes while less fortunate Nigerians rightfully pay the price for their sins.
One major area prominent Nigerians, especially political and judicial officers, get away with is forgery and perjury, both criminal offences.
A few weeks ago, following several denials and feeble pushbacks, Nigeria’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, was forced to resign from the government of President Bola Tinubu after being exposed in the web of certificate forgery by online newspaper, Premium Times.
Nnaji was found to have forged his BSc and National Youth Service Corps certificates, which he submitted to the president and the Senate during his ministerial screening in 2023. Perjury!
The former minister had claimed to have obtained a degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, in 1985, and completed his National Youth Service in Jos in 1986.
Despite that both UNN and the NYSC, through official correspondences, disowned Nnaji’s certificates, the minister was in denial.
Amid the heated debates, the ex-minister was forced to resign from President Tinubu’s cabinet.
Nnaji’s fiasco was not the first, and does not seem to be the last. It is estimated that from 1999 to now, no fewer than 10 prominent political figures have seen their careers cut short by deeply troubling certificate forgery scandals.
Some of these include late former Senate President Evan(s) Enwerem, former Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Salisu Buhari, and former Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun.
Enwerem was accused of forging his name (Evan vs. Evans) on official documents and committing perjury regarding credentials submitted for Senate confirmation.
The former Senate President was forced to resign in 1999 due to intense political pressure after a Senate Ethics Committee probe. He died in 2007.
Buhari was also reported to have forged a University of Toronto degree certificate and falsified his age. He claimed he was 36 years old at a time when he was actually 29, all in a bid to meet eligibility requirements for his political office.
Buhari publicly admitted his guilt and resigned in July 1999. He was convicted but later pardoned and barred from politics.
Kemi Adeosun forged her NYSC certificate and would shamefully resign her position after repeated denials, making the unforgettable admission that she relied on “trusted associates.”
On the judicial front, the National Judicial Council, NJC, the body tasked with discipline and promotion of judicial officers in its 109th meeting in Abuja, under the chairmanship of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, found out that nine judges of the Imo State judiciary falsified their dates of birth comprising five (5) High Court Judges and four Judges of the Customary Court of Appeal, Imo State.
Those found to have engaged in this less than noble endeavor are: 1. M. E. Nwagboso (High Court); 2. B. C. Iheka (High Court); 3. K. A. Leaweanya (High Court); 4. Okereke Chinyere Ngozi (High Court); 5. Innocent Chidi Ibeawuchi (High Court); 6. Tennyson Nze (Customary Court of Appeal); 7. Ofoha Uchenna (Customary Court of Appeal); 8. Everyman Eleanya (Customary Court of Appeal) And 9. Rosemond Ibe (Customary Court of Appeal).
It is saddening that individuals entrusted with the care of values and norms of society are themselves short of the expected examples they should abide by and live by.
The tragedy of it is that in all cases, these privileged individuals are allowed to walk free while those with even lesser crimes are punished.
The Abuja Inquirer frowns at the political expediency that comes into play when it involves the Nigerian “big man.” There should be no exceptions when a crime is committed especially by those entrusted with high office.
The law is clear on forgery and perjury which are serious criminal offences recognised under both the Criminal Code Act and the Penal Code. Both legal frameworks define forgery as the creation, alteration, or use of a false document with the intent to deceive, defraud, or cause injury to another person.
While both codes criminalise the act itself, they also provide specific punishments for offenders. Under Section 464 of the Criminal Code, general forgery attracts a penalty of up to seven years’ imprisonment, while Section 465 prescribes a heavier punishment of 14 years’ imprisonment for forging particular documents used in official or electoral processes such as certificates submitted to INEC or during ministerial screenings.
Similarly, the Penal Code, under Sections 363 and 364, criminalises not only the act of forgery but also the use of forged documents as genuine, especially when presented to public authorities like INEC or screening panels.
Section 364 prescribes a penalty of up to 14 years’ imprisonment, with or without a fine, treating the offence as a serious felony when the intent to defraud or obtain undue advantage is proven.
We therefore call on the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and state counterparts and the Nigeria Police to set examples by prosecuting these individuals to show that indeed all are equal before the law and it is no respecter of status where a crime is committed.
