Human right lawyers want Uwajeh prosecuted over Andy Uba’s certificate saga

A new twist has developed in the alleged certificate forgery against the Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Sen Andy Uba.

A coalition of human right lawyers yesterday asked for the arrest and prosecution of the private investigator, who raised the alarm, Mr Victor Osita Uwajeh, accusing him of complicity.

Uwajeh had last week accused the senator of forging his certificates, explaining that he has access to some of the forged certificates.

Yesterday however, the lawyers who addressed reporters in Enugu, asked the Inspector general of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris to commence without further delay investigations on the petition written by Uba against Uwajeh.

They stated that an immediate investigation of the petition had become necessary following their belief that his (Uwajeh) admission of “having somebody’s forged certificate makes him guilty and this is enough to possibly prosecute and convict him”.

Leader of the group, Mr Anayo Adibe of the Anayo Adibe and Partners, said the only way to ascertain the truth about the allegation saga was for the arrest and prosecution of Uwajeh, explaining that doing this had also become necessary as he (Uwajeh) had sometimes been acquitted by the court against fraudulent charges.

He said:”We intend to petition the Chairman of the EFCC to look into the allegation raised by Uba if the Police are not coming with their investigation and even where they failed, we will take up an action in court for an order of mandamus against him.

“If you say you have somebody’s forged certificate, it means you are guilty. They should look into the petition and investigate it thoroughly. If it is true that Andy Uba’s certificate is forged, then the two of them, should be made to face the music. He said he has fake certificates and that he has an idea where they could be found, it makes him culpable and since it is democracy, there are certain things that should no longer be granted”, he said.

Adibe noted that in the case between the Federal government and Uwajeh delivered by Justice Ugochukwu Ogakwu of the Abuja high court in 2013, the crux of the matter was allegations of fraud and extortion, stressing that, “ he is similarly being accused of same by Senator Uba”.

Uba had in a petition to the IGP dated April 7, 2017, accused Uwajeh of making serial attempts to blackmail him with the intention to obtain huge sums of money from him.

He had alleged that after failing to obtain money from him, “Uwajeh may have resorted to targeting my reputation, my career and my life through the spread of scandalous falsehood about my person”

The senator said he first met Uwajeh when he (Uba) worked at the Presidential Villa as Presidential assistant, but became wary of him when he began to boast that he was an undercover agent who had the dossiers of high ranking “politically exposed persons”.