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Arrest of Andy Uba: Emmanuel Nnamdi Uba’s criminal records

January 18, 2007
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By Ikenna Ellis-Ezenekwe and Omoyele Sowore

Investigations into Emmanuel Nnamdi Uba’s background has provided a rare glimpse into the violent history and mindset of the former Senior Special Assistant to president Obasanjo and People’s Democratic Party governorship candidate in Southeastern Anambra State. According to the latest information gathered by Saharareporters, Emmanuel Nnamdi Uba may have served jail sentence of up to 5 weeks in Los Angeles California back in 1985 after he dropped out of Concordia University in Canada and relocated to California.

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Official records obtained from the municipal court of West Los Angeles, Emmanuel Nnamdi Uba was arrested and charged for “Drawing a deadly weapon” in violation of section 417(a) of the California Penal Code on December 17, 1985.  The existing law generally makes it a misdemeanor to draw or exhibit any deadly weapon in a rude, angry or threatening manner in the presence of any person, punishable by not less than three months nor more than one year in a county jail according Penal Code Section 417(a) (1)), but prior to the amendment of this law in California it was a criminal felony that carried stiffer penalty a with full applicability of the dreaded “Three Strikes Doctrine”.

According to the court records which read, ‘The People of the State of California vs. (The Defendant) Emmanuel Nnamdi Uba,  states that he was arrested on December 17, 1985 by officers of the Los Angeles Sherrif Department (LASD) and arraigned on January 27, 1986 at 8:30am – 5 weeks later after bail was posted.

However there appears to be limited information on whom the deadly weapon was pulled on and who bailed him out of jail at that time. This is because on December 7, 1999 the Los Angeles Superior Court ordered the case file destroyed pursuant to Government Code 68152, a position which arose because the victim of Andy Uba anger was pressurized not to pursue the case against him. What was curious to Saharareporters was that the case files were destroyed coincident to Emmanuel Andy Uba’s relocation to join President Obasanjo in Nigeria through a process known as “Felony Expungement”.  According to sources who spoke under the conditions of anonymity, as Emmanuel Nnamdi Uba prepared to join President Obasanjo back in the 1999, he opened up to President Obasanjo and told him of his prior arrest record that may hinder his servitude to the President. It was following this revelation that certain actions were instigated by Andy Uba to have the case files destroyed taking advantage of the GC section 68152 and 68153. It was also believed that the subsequent destruction of the case files of Emmanuel Nnamdi Uba’s criminal record was carried out  to prevent the United States authorities from blocking his reentry into the country as well as facilitate his US citizenship application.

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Also exposing Emmanuel Nnamdi Uba tendency to violence is his recent indictment by a tribunal in Anambra State for arson in the widespread destruction in the November 10-13 2004 destruction of State owned properties. According to the record that indicted Emmanuel Nnamdi Uba titled – “Report of The Judicial Commission of Inquiry in The Arson, Mayhem and Large Scale Looting and Destruction of Government infrastructure and Private Property in Anambra State” presided submitted by Hon Justice Kenneth K Keazor, the tribunal reports stated that “Emmanuel Nnamdi Uba’s presence at the meetings in Chief Christian Uba’s house in Abuja during the plans and  (Andy Uba’s) declaration there (at the said meeting) that he was the president’s alter ego was a huge morale booster to the plotters. His conduct was unbecoming of a person occupying the exalted office of Senior Special Assistant to Mr. President on Domestic Affairs. The Commission recommends he should be investigated and prosecuted”.

What is interesting however is that the ‘White Paper’ of this indictment appears missing and the Anambra State government printer refused to gazette the indictment till date.

What injects an added importance to the California conviction of drawing a deadly weapon and the indictment by a Tribunal in Anambra State for arson, are his answers to the questions posed in his Peoples Democratic Party’s registration form for gubernatorial race that he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which Saharareporters is in possession of. On one of the questions in Section E {General} of the form, it asked, “Are you under a sentence of death, imprisonment or fine, for any offense involving dishonesty or fraud or any other offense imposed by a Court or Tribunal? – He answered No! And as our investigators have learnt, the consequence of providing false information to the INEC constitutes grounds for disqualification.  According to INEC stipulations, “if it is determined that any information contained in the affidavit is false the Courts shall issue an Order disqualifying the candidate from contesting the election”.   

Apart from this latest revelation, Emmanuel Andy Uba was also involved in money laundering, certificate forgery, and now arson and a weapon charge, yet the Independent National Electoral Commision of Nigeria (INEC) claims that it is not yet in receipt of any petition on Andy Uba’s criminal history which clearly disqualifies him to run for any public office according to the national electoral laws of Nigeria.

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