In all, 140 suspects will be made to face trial, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said on Tuesday. The anti-graft commission said that it would be putting the suspects on trial based on the investigation conducted by its own operatives.
Out of the lot, 13 will be arraigned by the anti-graft agency before three judges of Lagos High Court between Wednesday (today) and Thursday (tomorrow).
A statement by the spokesperson for the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, in Abuja on Tuesday said, "The suspects are among the over 140 individuals and organisations involved in the on-going investigations into the subsidy payments by the EFCC. More suspects will be arraigned periodically as the investigation progresses.
"This investigation is massive and extensive; and the Commission wishes to reassure Nigerians that every effort will be made to bring all those who defrauded the country in the guise of subsidy for imported fuel to book."
Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo will on Wednesday hear the case against Mahmud Tukur, Ochonogor Alex, Abdulai Alao and Eterna Oil and Gas Ltd. Walter Wagbatsuma, AdaohaUgo-Ngadi, Fakunde Babefemi and Ezekiel Ejide will be arraigned before Justice Habeeb Abiru in Ikeja same day.
On Thursday, the remaining four suspects, Durosola Omogbenigun, Peter Mba along with Integrated Resources Limited and Pinnacle Oil and Gas will appear before Justice Babajide Candide-Johnson of the Lagos High court in Igbosere on four counts.
While Ejide is director of an Accounting firm, Akintola Williams Deliote, Fakunde is on the staff of the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulating Agency.
According to the charge information sighted by one of our correspondents in Lagos, all the counts preferred against the accused border on conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretences, forgery and use of false documents.
The accused were said to have at different occasions in 2011 fraudulently obtained various sums of money with respect to certain quantities of Premium Motoring Spirit from the Federal Government under the Petroleum Support Fund.
They were said to have purported the sums of money to be payments for the subsidy of various litres of PMS which they allegedly failed to deliver.
They were also said to have forged bills of lading and other vital documents which they allegedly used in perpetrating the fraud.
Tukur, Alex, Alao and Eternal Oil and Gas, are charged with nine counts.
They allegedly obtained a total sum of N676.9m from the Federal Government fraudulently, purporting same to be subsidy payment accruing to Eterna Oil on April 28, 2011 in Lagos.
The EFCC also accused them of falsifying claims to have purchased 33,288,388 litres of PMS from Mercury Energy Trading AS and imported same to Nigeria through Ex-QMT Fulmer, Ex-MT Emirates ZStar and Ex-MTPanther.
Alao was alleged to have fraudulently obtained N2.5bn in December 2010 from the Federal Government as subsidy payments for supplying 13,364,284 and 20,014,627 litres of petrol.
Wagbatsuma, Ugo-Ngadi, Babafemi, Ejide, Ontario Oiland Gas, were on their part, accused of fraudulently obtaining over N1.9bn from July to December 2010.
Integrated Resources Limited along with Omogbemigun was said to have on November 15, 2011, fraudulently obtained N823,304,765.84 as subsidy payment.
The said amount was said to have been collected with respect of 9,190,815 litres of PMS.
Mba was said to have on February 4, 2011, fraudulently obtained N986,154,970.41 purportedly in respect of 19,347,753 litres of PMS.
The EFCC said their alleged offences contravened Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act of 2006 and Sections 467 and 468 of the Criminal Code Laws of Lagos State 2003.
Uwujaren said the trial of those to be arraigned today and tomorrow would be based on the report of the EFCC's independent investigation.
The anti-graft commission's spokesman apparently made the clarification to allay fears that the trial of the suspected subsidy thieves would not be based on the report of the House of Representatives' panel on management of fuel subsidy.
Analysts had raised questions on the credibility of the House panel report given the $620,000 bribery scandal involving the chairman of the panel, Farouk Lawan.
An oil marketer, Femi Otedola, had recently exposed the alleged $3m bribery deal between himself and Lawan.
Otedola said the deal was made in order to remove the name of his firm, Zenon Oil, and Gas Limited, from the list of firms indicted in the N1.7tn short-changing of government during the fuel subsidy regime.
The businessman disclosed he had given Lawan a $620,000 part-payment but refused to pay the balance because, according to him, the lawmaker forced him into the deal. After initial denials, Lawan had also admitted that he collected the money but not as a bribe but as evidence that Otedola had tried to influence him unduly.
The scandal is currently under investigation by the police and ethics committee of the House.
(Culled From Punch)
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They are going about it the wrong way. Who should be investigated? The party that released the funds without proper checks should be more liable than the party receiving. Also, rather than expensive prosecution, isn't it better to insist that the funds be returned by the companies first? Only when they refuse to return funds should prosecution commence.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you... Hope this is not Act 1 scene 2.
ReplyDeleteHope this is not going to be one of those fruitless trials???
ReplyDeleteI hope so too, but I'm afaraid, You know the giant of Africa's way of doing things, some people are untouchable no matter what, it will never suprise me if some of these cases are thrown away on "TECHNICAL" ground as they call it. Uhmmm that is Naija for you.
ReplyDelete