A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a request by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, seeking to prevent the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), from releasing his academic records.
Justice Hausa Yilwa, in a ruling delivered on September 22, rejected Nnaji’s application for an injunction, according to a Certified True Copy of the judgment seen on Sunday.
Nnaji, through an ex parte motion marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1909/2025, had asked the court to restrain UNN from releasing or tampering with his academic records and to compel the institution to provide his transcript.
After reviewing the motion and supporting documents, Justice Yilwa ruled that while the minister had sufficient interest in the case, his request to stop the university from releasing the records lacked merit.
“I find that the applicant has sufficient interest in the matter, and the application is partly meritorious. Accordingly, prayers one to three are granted, while prayer four, which sought an injunction, is declined,” the judge stated.
The ruling means the University of Nigeria is not barred from making Nnaji’s academic records public.
In a separate development, UNN Vice-Chancellor Professor Simon Ortuanya, in a letter dated October 2 2025, stated that the university’s records do not confirm that Nnaji graduated from the institution.
“From our records, we cannot confirm that Mr Geoffrey Uchechukwu Nnaji, the current Minister of Science and Technology, graduated from the University of Nigeria in July 1985. There are no records showing that he completed his studies,” the letter read in part.
The university reiterated that no certificate was issued to Nnaji, aligning with its earlier communication to the Public Complaints Commission in May 2025.
Court documents show Nnaji admitted he had yet to collect his certificate but maintained that UNN had previously confirmed his graduation in a letter issued to an online news platform in December 2023.
The minister had listed the Minister of Education, the National Universities Commission, the University of Nigeria, its Vice-Chancellor and Registrar, former Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Oguejiofor Ujam, and the university’s Senate as respondents in the suit.
