The Federal High Court in Abuja has postponed the arraignment of former Senator Andy Uba and his co-defendant, Benjamin Etu, in the alleged N400 million fraud case to November 6.
The arraignment, which was scheduled to hold on Tuesday, could not proceed due to the absence of the trial judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, who was said to be presiding over another matter in a different division of the court.
The adjournment follows a previous warning issued by Justice Umar on September 24, where he threatened to issue a bench warrant for Uba’s arrest if he failed to appear in court on October 28 to take his plea. The prosecution team, led by counsel Aminu Abdullahi, had earlier requested that a warrant be issued against Uba for repeatedly failing to appear before the court.
According to Abdullahi, Uba’s consistent absence shows disregard for the court’s authority and has delayed the trial process. He noted that since the case was filed in 2024, the former lawmaker had yet to make a single appearance in court. The prosecutor argued that the delay violates Section 394 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.
However, Uba’s counsel, C.F. Odiniru, pleaded with the court for more time, citing his client’s ill health as the reason for his absence. Odiniru assured that efforts were being made to ensure Uba’s presence at the next adjourned date.
The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/538/2024, initially listed Uba, Crystal Uba, and Etu as defendants in a two-count charge filed in October 2024. An amended charge filed in March 2025 retained only Andy Uba and Benjamin Etu, while Crystal Uba’s name was removed from the list of defendants.
The prosecution alleged that Uba and his co-defendant conspired with a woman identified as Hajiya Fatima, who is currently at large, to obtain N400 million under false pretences from a businessman, George Uboh. The trio allegedly claimed they could facilitate the appointment of a Managing Director for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for anyone willing to pay the sum. The case will continue on November 6 when the defendants are expected to appear for arraignment.