The Nigeria Police Force has requested that the Federal High Court in Abuja issue a bench warrant for the arrest of former Senator Andy Uba over an alleged N400 million job scam.
The request was made on Wednesday after Uba failed to appear in court for his arraignment. Uba, a former representative of the Anambra South Senatorial District, was scheduled to appear alongside co-defendant Benjamin Etu in the case marked FHC/ABJ/CR/538/2024.
The hearing, presided over by Justice Mohammed Umar, had been fixed in July for September 24.
Uba and others are accused of defrauding George Uboh by falsely claiming they could secure the appointment of a Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for anyone willing to pay N400 million.
When the matter was called, C.L. Odiniru, counsel for the defendants, apologised for Uba’s absence, insisting the ex-lawmaker was “sick and currently receiving treatment in the United States.”
But the prosecution counsel representing the IGP, Aminu Abdullahi, countered that the defence had repeatedly used the “sickness excuse” without presenting any documentary evidence to back the claim.
He urged the court to issue an arrest warrant to compel Uba’s attendance, stressing that the matter had suffered unnecessary delays.
“I will give you another opportunity by giving you another date. This case must be heard this year. Even if it means issuing a bench warrant of arrest, the court will do that,” the judge, as reported by Daily Post, adjourned the case to October 28, 2025, for Uba and his co-defendant to enter their plea.
The prosecution had, on March 5, 2025, amended a two-count charge filed against Uba and his co-defendant, Etu, before the former trial judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo.
The police had earlier named Uba and two others in the first charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/538/2024.
The co-defendants, as named in the two-count charge filed on October 10, 2024, by Abdulrashid Sidi in the Legal/Prosecution Section at the Police Force Headquarters, Abuja, were Crystal Uba and Benjamin Etu, listed as the 2nd and 3rd defendants, respectively.
However, in the amended charge filed on March 4, 2025, by Sidi, Uba, and Etu, Uba and Etu are listed as the 1st and 2nd defendants, while Crystal Uba’s name was dropped.
In count one, it was alleged that Uba, Etu, and Hajiya Fatima, now at large, conspired amongst themselves sometime in 2022 to commit the offence.
The offence, the prosecution said, is contrary to Section 1 (2) and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.
Uboh, in a letter dated April 5, 2023, and addressed to the IGP, said the petition was based on documentary evidence and a voice recording, adding that the evidence is overwhelming and irrefutable.
No fewer than six witnesses had been listed to testify against the ex-lawmaker and Etu.