By Correspondent in Abuja.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned the arraignment of Senator Andy Uba and his co-defendant, Benjamin Etu, in an alleged ₦400 million fraud case until November 6.
The arraignment, earlier scheduled for Tuesday, could not hold due to the absence of the trial judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, who was said to be sitting in another division of the court.
Justice Umar had previously, on September 24, threatened to issue a bench warrant for Uba’s arrest should he fail to appear in court on October 28 to face trial. The warning followed an application by the prosecution counsel, Aminu Abdullahi, representing the Inspector-General of Police (IGP).
Abdullahi had urged the court to issue a bench warrant in line with Section 394 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, citing Uba’s repeated absence as a deliberate act of disrespect to the court and an obstruction to the trial’s progress.
He noted that since the charge was filed in 2024, the former Senator representing Anambra South had never personally appeared in court, often citing health challenges through his lawyer, C.F. Odiniru.
At the last sitting, Odiniru again pleaded for additional time for his client to recover and be able to attend court proceedings. Justice Umar then granted a final opportunity, adjourning the case to October 28.
The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) had, on July 7, granted approval to the IGP to prosecute Uba and Etu over the alleged fraud. The prosecution had earlier, on March 5, amended a two-count charge originally filed before Justice Inyang Ekwo.
Initially, Uba, Crystal Uba, and Benjamin Etu were listed as defendants in charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/538/2024. However, in the amended charge filed on March 4 by Police prosecutor Abdulrashid Sidi, Crystal Uba’s name was dropped, leaving Uba and Etu as the 1st and 2nd defendants respectively.
In the first count, Uba, Etu, and one Hajiya Fatima (now at large) were accused of conspiring in 2022 to defraud Mr. George Uboh of ₦400 million under the pretext of securing the appointment of a Managing Director for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The charge stated that they made “a false representation” to Uboh that they could influence the appointment, an act the prosecution described as a violation of Sections 8 and 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-Related Offences Act, 2006.
Uboh, in a petition dated April 5, 2023, and addressed to the IGP, supported his allegations with documentary and voice evidence.
The prosecution plans to call six witnesses to testify against the former lawmaker and his co-defendant when trial begins.
