A former Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology, Uche Nnaji, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), and other parties in a certificate forgery dispute have commenced moves to settle out of court, halting further legal proceedings in the case.

The development was disclosed yesterday during a scheduled proceeding before Justice Hauwa Yilwa of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Nnaji had approached the court in October 2025, following an investigation by an online medium, alleging that the minister had forged his first degree and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificates.

The report further faulted the minister for submitting the forged documents to President Bola Tinubu and the Senate during his ministerial screening.

Nnaji subsequently resigned his position as minister following widespread controversy, stating that he did not want the issue to become a distraction from the administration’s activities.

The case has, however, stalled in court since it was instituted due to procedural setbacks, including issues with the service of court processes and multiple preliminary objections filed by the defendants.

When the matter was called yesterday, Nnaji’s counsel, 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, respectively, told the court that 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 to 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 with another Senior Advocate, Wole Olanipekun, who represented Nnaji.