Lack of service of Court processes, on Wednesday, stalled the arraignment of former Senator Andy Uba and his co-defendants before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja over alleged N400 million fraud.
When the matter was called, the prosecution counsel, Lookman Anthony, representing the Inspector General of Police (IGP), informed the court that the amended charge had not yet been served on Uba.
The development followed an amendment to the charge by the prosecution which it (the prosecution) admitted had not been served on the defendants.
The trial judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo, noted that an earlier order for substituted service did not cover the amended charge.
Seeking further time, Anthony requested the court’s indulgence for time to serve the second defendant in court and to ensure the amended charge is delivered through substituted means.
The judge, however, directed the defense counsel to facilitate service outside the court premises to expedite the process and thereafter, adjourned the matter till March 17, 2025 for arraignment.
The court had previously granted the request of the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to arraign Uba and others on a two-count charge bordering on alleged N400 million fraud.
In the charge, marked, FHC/ABJ/CR/538/2024, Uba and his co-defendants were alleged to have defrauded one George Uboh, whose petition to the police led to the charge.
The IGP specifically alleged that the defendants, alongside one Hajiya Fatima who is said to be at large, had sometime in 2022, conspired and defrauded the complainant by making a presentation that they had perfected way to secure the position of the managing directorship of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for any person that could afford the sum of N400 million, a claim that the defendants knew was not true.
They were said to have committed an offence contrary to Section 8 and punishable under section 1 (3) of the advance fee fraud and other fraud related offences Act 2006.
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