New Problems for Uche Nnaji as Police Question Aide Over Defamation of Ex-UNN VC

The police in Enugu State have questioned Chukwunonye Okereke, a media consultant for Uche Nnaji, a former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology. This is over claims he made about Oguejiofo Ujam, a former Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN). The police are looking into an alleged criminal defamation.

Sources say Mr Okereke spent hours being questioned by police on Monday. He is accused of saying that Mr Ujam, a professor, worked with the former PDP-led Enugu State Government to say Mr Nnaji faked his UNN degree certificate.

The interrogation took place at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Enugu State. This action follows a complaint made by Mr Ujam.

A copy of the complaint, dated 19 May 2026, was obtained by this newspaper. It claims that Mr Okereke “criminally defamed” Mr Ujam on 7 October 2025 while defending Mr Nnaji during a segment on Channels TV’s Politics Today.

Defending Nnaji’s Certificate Forgery Case

Mr Okereke had appeared on the TV show to defend Mr Nnaji. This was after a detailed two-year investigation by PREMIUM TIMES in October last year. The investigation showed that the former minister had indeed forged his UNN degree and NYSC certificates, which he provided during his ministerial confirmation in 2023.

Mr Ujam was UNN’s vice-chancellor from February to August 2025. At that time, he had already left the position when the TV program aired. Professor Simon Ortuanya has been the acting vice-chancellor since August 2025.

Political Movements: APC and PDP

For some background, Governor Peter Mbah was in the PDP when he won the governorship election on 18 March 2023 in Enugu State. Mr Nnaji was part of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and ran for governor but did not win.

Mr Mbah and Mr Nnaji have been political rivals. The governor switched from PDP to APC in October 2025. Recently, Mr Nnaji quietly joined the PDP faction supported by Nyesom Wike, a Federal Capital Territory Minister. In May, he became the 2027 governorship candidate for this faction.

Defamation Claims from the TV Show

During the TV program that was monitored by this newspaper, Mr Okereke claimed that the certificate forgery issue was politically motivated. He pointed fingers at Governor Mbah for the scandal surrounding Mr Nnaji’s degree.

Mr Okereke stated that UNN is “an arm of the PDP” and that Mr Ujam was the former chairman of the PDP at UNN. He also mentioned that Mr Ortuanya is the current chairman of the “PDP arm” of the university. He alleged that both men worked together to discredit Mr Nnaji’s UNN degree certificate.

Channels TV posted a video clip of the program on its YouTube channel on 7 October 2027. In this clip, Mr Okereke stated, “We have the PDP chapter of the University of Nigeria Nsukka, where the former chairman (of the PDP) was a former Acting Vice-Chancellor (of UNN), Prof Ujam and the present Chairman of the PDP chapter (in UNN) is the politically anointed Vice-Chancellor, Prof Simon Ortuanya.”

He further claimed that Mr Ujam was the “returning officer for PDP” in Nkanu East Local Government Area during the 2023 election and that he was rewarded with the acting vice-chancellor position.

PREMIUM TIMES checked and found that political parties in Nigeria, including the PDP, cannot have anyone officially designated as “returning officer” in elections. Only the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) assigns returning officers in local government areas.

The returning officers are also called collation officers. Political parties can only have one representative called “party agents” at polling units during elections. Research by this newspaper showed that a Computer Science lecturer from UNN, Ogbene Nnaemeka, was the returning officer for Nkanu East during the governorship election.

Mr Ujam mentioned in his complaint that he was appointed as acting vice-chancellor “on merit” by President Tinubu through the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa. He said the topic discussed on Channels TV had nothing to do with him since he had already left office.

“The discourse had nothing to do with me as the erstwhile acting vice-chancellor, but Hon. Chukwunonye Okereke deliberately used the opportunity to drag my name into the discourse just to damage my reputation, impugning my integrity and bringing me into public odium and opprobrium,” he stated.

He pointed out that President Tinubu, who appointed him, was a member of the APC. But Mr Okereke accused him of being a PDP returning officer during the 2023 election in Nkanu East LGA.

“Hon. Chukwunonye Okereke knew this fact very well and the fact that I was never a returning officer for PDP in Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State, but he chose to injure my reputation and expose me to public hatred, contempt, ridicule and damage my professional image through the media.”

Mr Ujam said he has not had peace of mind since the defamatory statement was made. He has received calls from friends and others asking about the claims or expressing their discomfort with what was said.

He urged the police commissioner to step in and “save me from this malicious embarrassment and also ensure that justice is served accordingly.”

Claims of AI Involvement

Sources say police tried to arrest Mr Okereke in late May. He asked for more time to come in for questioning, saying he had PDP primaries to attend. On Monday, he showed up at the police SCID office with his lawyer.

Insiders say he denied defaming Mr Ujam. When shown the video clip from Channels TV, he claimed it was generated using Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Possible Criminal Charges

Sources close to the case told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Okereke will be called back to meet with police at a later time. Insiders believe this is part of the preparations to charge him in court. The police seem ready to proceed with charges, regardless of his denials.

Investigators think Mr Okereke’s claim about AI was a distraction since the Channels TV video is clear evidence.

Background of the Issue

In October 2023, PREMIUM TIMES started looking into Mr Nnaji’s academic records. The former minister had provided a degree and NYSC certificates to President Tinubu and the Nigerian Senate during his confirmation in 2023. He claimed to have graduated from UNN in 1985.

Worried about the investigation, Mr Nnaji went to court to stop UNN and its vice-chancellor, Simon Ortuanya, from releasing his academic records. He named UNN, the vice-chancellor, the Minister of Education, the National Universities Commission, the university registrar, Mr Ujam, and the Senate of the university in the suit.

But recently, Mr Nnaji’s legal team asked for an out-of-court settlement. Before he could get a court order, Mr Ortuanya responded to PREMIUM TIMES’ Freedom of Information letter, confirming that Mr Nnaji had forged his UNN degree certificate.

The UNN registrar later confirmed Mr Ortuanya’s statement, saying that Mr Nnaji was admitted in 1981 but did not graduate or receive any certificate.

NYSC also disowned the discharge certificate Mr Nnaji had, in response to a separate FOI letter from PREMIUM TIMES.

Three days after the investigation revealed his forged documents, Mr Nnaji resigned from his ministerial position. Many Nigerians have called for his prosecution, saying that resigning is not enough considering the laws he broke.

Earlier this year, legal expert Liborous Oshoma criticized the Nigerian government for not prosecuting Mr Nnaji over the forgery scandal, stating that people like him should face prosecution and be banned from public office.

Mr Nnaji is still aiming to run for governor in Enugu State in 2027, even with ongoing investigations into his certificate forgery by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

PREMIUM TIMES reported in February that the ICPC started looking into Mr Nnaji’s forgery case. Insiders say he might face prosecution if they find that he indeed forged his documents.

In March, this newspaper also reported that an investigative panel set up by Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Mr Alausa, confirmed that Mr Nnaji forged his degree and NYSC certificates.