- Lawyer and activist Frank Tietie urged authorities to prosecute former Innovation, Science and Technology Minister Uche Nnaji, who resigned over allegations of certificate forgery.
- Titi said Najib’s resignation was a sign of guilt and called for a harsher punishment than that of former speaker Sanusi Buhari, who was jailed for similar crimes.
- He argued that Najib’s alleged forgery had tainted Nigeria’s education system and insisted that he should not only face trial but also be refunded all benefits obtained through “fake certificates”.
Lawyer and activist Frank Tietie has called for severe punishment for former Innovation, Science and Technology Minister Uche Nnaji, who resigned over certificate forgery allegations.
Titi argued that Najib’s resignation showed his guilt and said his punishment should be harsher than that of former speaker Sanusi Buhari, who was jailed for two years for similar crimes.
Najib, who is accused of forging a bachelor’s degree and a State University of New York certificate, has denied wrongdoing and said he resigned after “continued false propaganda and politically motivated attacks.”
“It should go beyond resignations. It should go beyond persecution. The integrity of Nigeria’s education system has been tested in the past few days.
“This is internationally, this is on universal trial. Alumni of Nigerian universities must be very embarrassed as it could be. You know its certificates can be so earned that those who did not graduate can now claim to have graduated.
“The fact that those who conducted the verification actually committed serious crimes has led to a lot of systemic failures, not only in Nigeria’s education system, not only in violation of President Tinubu’s administration, not only in violation of the criminal laws of this country, but also, you know, in his wanton abuse of the court process.
“He has gone beyond the famous Toronto scandal involving Sanusi Buhari, where he was, in fact, not only indicted but sentenced to two years in prison with the option of a fine.
“It’s so painful that Sanusi Buhari has been appointed to the Council of Nigerian Universities. Imagine this amazing brand of Nigerian universities. It’s the Minister of Innovation who, you know, turned his department into a fake credential for innovation.
“And then he goes on to defend it. There’s something important here. The Supreme Court has established a very important principle that if you know, if you operate with an illegal certificate, or as an elected or appointed person, whatever you acquired in the course of using that certificate, you have to return it.
“So, I hope that, in addition to prosecution, Najib should be prepared to return everything that he received as a result of using the certificate.
