The Citizens Advocacy for Social and Economic Rights (CASER) has called on Enugu State’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice to prosecute former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Geoffrey Uche Nnaji, an indigene of Enugu State.

The erstwhile minister recently resigned from office over certificates forgery scandal. An online newspaper, Premium Times, had published an investigate report, which showed that Nnaji allegedly forged the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) degree certificate and a National Youth Service Corps discharge certificate, which he submitted to the Senate, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), and Directorate of State Service (DSS) for his appointment, screening, and confirmation as a minister in President Bola Tinubu’s government in August 2023.

Addressing journalists in Abuja on Thursday, Executive Director, CASER, Mr Frank Tietie, said the organisation had already written to the Attorney General of Enugu State to immediately begin the prosecution of Nnaji as federal agencies that should have prosecuted him appeared to be dragging their feet.

According to the lawyer and activist, the dereliction of duty on the part of federal agencies, especially when linked to high-profile personalities, undermines public confidence in the nation’s justice system and erodes the foundational principle that no one is above the law.

He said: “It is precisely the perceived inaction and selective enforcement by these federal agencies for reasons that are politically obvious that has compelled CASER to formally request the Honourable Attorney General of Enugu State to exercise his constitutional powers under Section 211 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to investigate and prosecute Chief Geoffrey Uche Nnaji for alleged acts amounting to forgery and related offences.

“Section 211 empowers a State Attorney General to institute and undertake criminal proceedings against any person in respect of offences created by law in that state.

“This request by CASER is not politically motivated — it is a principled call for justice, deterrence, and the restoration of institutional integrity. If the federal agencies will not act because of political convenience or political correctness, then a state authority that still believes in the sanctity of law must do so.”

In case the Enugu State Attorney General is unwilling to prosecute the case, CASER asks him to issue a fiat to private citizens to prosecute the matter.

Tietie exhibited a copy of the letter sent to the Enugu State Attorney General and which was dated 6th October 2025, delivered and duly acknowledged on 7th October 2025.

CASER maintained that “failure to prosecute politically exposed persons sends a dangerous message that some individuals are above the law and this cannot continue if Nigeria is to strengthen democracy, uphold the Constitution, and command international respect as a nation governed by laws, not by persons.”

Recall that on Wednesday, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Alliance, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), several senior lawyers, and CSOs also called for the investigation and prosecution of Nnaji, insisting that resignation was not an atonement for alleged offences of forgery and perjury.

However, the Executive Director of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani), demanded that Nnaji be banned from holding public office for life to serve as a deterrent to others.

“He did not resign of his own volition. He was forced by the public, the media, and the civil society to resign. He didn’t resign as an honourable man. He actually went to court to stop the university from releasing his record. In fact, we should ban him from public office for life,” he stated.

The demand for reparations for the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism took center stage at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, as a coalition of Global South leaders mounted an unprecedented call for reparative justice while criticizing Western nations for their continued silence on historical crimes.

Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama, serving as the African Union Champion for Reparations, delivered a landmark address that framed the debate in stark moral terms. He declared the slave trade “the greatest crime against humanity,” referencing the forced displacement of over 12.5 million Africans to generate wealth for Western nations.

“We must demand reparations for the enslavement of our people and the colonisation of our land that resulted in the theft of natural resources,” President Mahama stated. He highlighted the historical irony that Western governments “happily paid reparations to former slave owners as compensation for the loss of their ‘property’—the enslaved people themselves.”

“We recognise the value of our land and the value of our lives,” he declared.

Central African Republic President Faustin Archange Touadera reinforced the continental solidarity behind reparations, declaring that “the era of Africa’s dependence is over.” He called for a fundamental shift toward “sovereignty, not subordination; partnership, not exploitation.”

President Touadera condemned the persistent global inequality, stating it is “unacceptable to see poverty worsening in Africa while wealth accumulates in the Northern countries,” while confirming his nation’s full support for the pan-African reparations initiative.

Bolivian President Luis Alberto Arce Catacora outlined specific mechanisms for addressing historical injustices, proposing the establishment of a dedicated UN commission on reparations covering “slavery, apartheid, genocide, and colonialism.”

“This commission must establish effective mechanisms to restore historical justice,” President Arce explained, detailing three core components: Financial reparations, Environmental restoration and Restitution of stolen cultural property.

He called for those responsible for historical crimes to contribute “billions of dollars into a reparations fund” and urged unity between the African Union and CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) in confronting colonialism’s lasting effects.

A consistent theme across all presentations was profound disappointment with the Global North’s engagement on reparative justice. Leaders expressed unanimous frustration that Western countries continue to avoid meaningful dialogue on the issue, demonstrating what they characterized as a deliberate unwillingness to acknowledge historical responsibilities.

This coordinated stance at the UN General Assembly represents a significant escalation in the international reparations movement, signaling that former colonial powers can no longer sideline these demands on the global stage.

The statements were delivered during the general debate of the 80th UN General Assembly session.

In the heart of Africa, in the mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, new recruits are being trained for battle.

The scores of militia groups that have fought for three decades in one of the most protracted and complex conflicts in the world are still engaging in deadly fighting, and US President Donald Trump’s claimed peace deal for the nation feels like a distant dream.

The deal, portrayed as a “wonderful treaty” by Trump, was signed by the foreign ministers of Rwanda and DR Congo in Washington on June 27.

However, it has yet to end the wider bloodshed that began after the 1994 Rwandan genocide and is estimated to have killed 6 million people.

“Our aim is to go to Kinshasa,” says Corneille Nangaa, a former election-chief-turned-rebel-leader, in an interview with CNN’s Larry Madowo inside the rebel-held city of Goma.

Nangaa’s rebel coalition Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), of which M23 is a key member, plans to go to Kinshasa, the country’s capital, to overthrow his one-time ally President Felix Tshisekedi, whom he considers illegitimate.

“We need to liberate our country. We need to take away this corrupted regime, and then we need to build the state,” said Nangaa, who heads AFC-M23’s political wing.

M23, which is allegedly backed by Rwanda, took control of eastern DR Congo’s two largest cities – Goma and Bukavu – in a lightning offensive at the start of this year. According to DR Congo’s government, some 7,000 people have died in fighting in the eastern Congo since January.

Crucially, neither the AFC nor M23 is party to the US-brokered peace process.

However, Trump is heralding the US-brokered peace agreement as one of the several conflicts his administration has “settled.” He is expected to host the two country’s presidents soon for a ceremonial signing of the deal.

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CNN visited Goma, home to more than 2 million people, in the week the United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) released a fact-finding report on the escalation of hostilities between January and July 2025 in North and South Kivu, the provinces where Goma and Bukavu are located.

The findings “underscore the gravity and widespread nature of violations and abuses committed by all parties to the conflict, including acts that may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

Eight months on from M23’s violent takeover of Goma, the city’s Birere market is once again bustling with hundreds of stalls packed with fresh produce.

But the hectic scenes belie the ever-present threat of violence for civilians living in this contested region.

“Ça va un peu,” or “it’s kind of OK,” says one young man selling brightly colored cloth, when asked how life has been since January.

“We have suffered enough already,” another woman selling fish laid out on a small wooden table says. Like many, she declines to talk about life under the control of an armed militia or to give her name.

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