The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Monday arraigned two more directors of oil-marketing companies and one oil-marketing and trading (OM&T) firm before a Lagos High Court in Ikeja, for fuel subsidy fraud.
The directors and the company arraigned before Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo were Oluwaseun Ogunbambo, Habila Theck and Fago Petroleum and Gas Limited.
Their arraignment brings to 21 the number of suspects on trial for the N13 billion fraud perpetrated in the management of the Petroleum Support Fund (PSF).
The EFCC had last week arraigned seven companies and 12 individuals, including Nasaman Oil Services and Axenergy, believed to be owned and run by sons of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains; Ontario Oil & Gas Plc; Nadabo Energy Limited; Pacific Silver Line Limited and Eterna Oil and Gas Plc.
Others who were arraigned included Mamman Nasir Ali, Christian Taylor, Mahmud Tukur, Ochonogor Alex, Walter Wagbatsoma, Adaoha Ugo-Ngadi, Fakuade Babafemi Ebenezer, Ezekiel Olaleye Ejidele, Abubakar Ali Peters, Jude Agube Abalaka, Abdullahi Alao and Oluwaseun Ogunbanbo.
It was, however, gathered that Mamman Nasir, son of the former PDP National Chairman, Col. Ahmadu Ali (rtd), and Mahmud Tukur, son of the incumbent PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, along with other defendants granted bail last week were still in custody yesterday because they could not perfect their bail terms.
The two persons and one company were Monday arraigned on a six-count charge for conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretence, forgery and use of false documents.
However, one of the defendants, Olugbenga Adesanya, could not be physically arraigned because he was at large.
The EFCC accused them of fraudulently obtaining N980 million from the Federal Government by falsely representing that the said sum represented subsidy accruing from the importation of 13,627,084 litres of petrol purportedly purchased from Sealac Petroleun Limited and imported into Nigeria through MT Diplomat Ex mT Milleura.
EFCC also alleged that the defendants, with intent to defraud, forged a document titled “Certificate of Origin, Port of Loading Antwerp Belgium” dated October 14, 2011, purporting the document to have been issued by Seatac Petroleum Limited.
Although the commission had earlier preferred a seven-count charge against the defendants, one of the prosecuting counsel, Mr. Francis Usani, applied to the court to drop one of the charges.
According to the EFCC, the offences committed by the defendants is contrary to Section 8 and punishable under Section 1 (1)(2)(3) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.
Counsel to the defendants, Mr. Babajide Koku (SAN), told the court that they had two applications for the bail of the defendants, one of which was dated July 25, and forwarded to court last week and a new one filed Monday.
Koku held that the application for bail dated July 25 be struck out and for its substitution with the new one.
He said the new application was informed by the need to react to the counter affidavit of the prosecution which had opposed bail for the first defendants.
Reacting, the prosecution, led by Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, told the court that it would have moved the application but it needed time to react to some fundamental issues raised in the new application of the defence which it got Monday.
The defence counsel subsequently asked for a short adjournment to enable the parties to react to all applications before the court.
However, Justice Onigbanjo while adjourning the matter till August 1 to consider the bail application, remanded the defendants in EFCC custody as requested by the commission.-THISDAY
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