A former Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology, Uche Nnaji, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and other parties in a certificate forgery dispute, have commenced moves to settle out of court, halting further proceedings in the case.
The development was disclosed on Monday during proceedings before Justice Hauwa Yilwa of the Federal High Court, Abuja, where the suit came up for hearing of pending applications.
Nnaji had approached the court in October 2025, following an investigation by Premium Times, alleging that the minister had forged his first degree and National Youth Service Corps certificates.
The report further faulted the minister for submitting the forged documents to President Bola Tinubu and the Senate during his ministerial screening.
Nnaji had subsequently resigned his position as minister following widespread controversy, stating that he did not want the issue to become a distraction from the activities of the administration.
The case has, however, stalled at the courts since it was instituted, due to procedural setbacks including issues relating to the service of court processes and multiple preliminary objections filed by the defendants.
When the matter was called on Monday, counsel for Nnaji, Ope Muritala, informed the court that although the case was slated for a hearing of pending applications, there was a fresh development, adding that parties were exploring an amicable resolution, requesting an adjournment to enable negotiations to continue.
“There is a new development as parties are exploring an out-of-court settlement,” he told the court.
Lawyers representing the first (Minister of Education) and second (National Universities Commission) defendants, P.C. Ike and N.H. Obah told the court they were not previously aware of the settlement discussions until they arrived at the court, but did not oppose the request for an adjournment to allow the talks to proceed.
Meanwhile, counsel for the third to seventh defendants, including the UNN and its principal officers, Chidubem Ugwueze, confirmed that the move towards settlement had been communicated earlier.
He told the court that a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chris Uche, who is leading the defence team, had informed him of the development.
According to him, the information originated from another Senior Advocate, Wole Olanipekun, representing Nnaji.
Although he did not object to the proposed settlement, Ugwueze urged the court to proceed with hearing the defendants’ argument, pending a motion for regularisation in the event that settlement talks collapsed.
However, Justice Yilwa declined the request, stating that it would be more appropriate to consider such applications only if the out-of-court resolution efforts failed.
In view of the parties’ disposition, the court adjourned the matter to July 8, 2026, for report of settlement or continuation of proceedings.
The suit centres on Nnaji’s attempt to stop the release or alleged tampering of his academic records by the university and its officials.
In an ex parte application filed before the court, the former minister sought leave to apply for prerogative orders, including an order of prohibition restraining the university and its officials from interfering with his academic records.
He also sought an order of mandamus compelling the institution to release his academic transcript.
In addition, he asked the education minister and the NUC to exercise their supervisory roles to ensure compliance with the request.
However, the defendants, in their preliminary objection, urged the court to strike out the case on the grounds that it is incompetent and that the court lacks jurisdiction to entertain it.
They argued that the application was filed outside the statutory time frame prescribed under Order 34 Rule 4(1) of the Federal High Court (civil procedure) Rules 2019, as well as Section 2(a) of the Public Officers Protection Act.
In this article