Fuel subsidy fraud: EFCC to arraign 7 oil marketers, 2 companies

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will on Wednesday in Lagos arraign some oil marketers and their companies for their alleged complicity in the fuel subsidy fraud. The accused persons are expected to be arraigned before Justices Adeniyi Onigbanjo and Habeeb Abiru of the Ikeja High Courts.

Those to be arraigned before Justice Onigbanjo are Mahmud Tukur, Ochonogor Alex, Abdulai Alao and Eterna Oil and Gas Ltd. According to the charge sheet dated July 19, 2012, the accused persons are facing a 9-count charge bothering on conspiracy, obtaining money under false pretences, forgery and use of false documents. The EFCC alleged that they had on April 28, 2011 in Lagos, fraudulently obtained N676.9 million from the Federal Government, purporting same to be payment accruing to Eterna Oil under the Petroleum Support Fund.

The commission also accused the marketers of falsifying claims to have purchased 33, 288, 388 litres of Premium Motoring Spirits (PMS) from Mercury Energy Trading AS and imported to Nigeria through Ex-MT Fulmer, Ex-MT Emirates Star and Ex-MT Panther. Alao will also face another 7-count charge bothering on obtaining money under false pretences, forgery and use of false documents before Abiru.

He is accused of fraudulently obtaining N2.5 billion in December 2010 from the Federal Government as subsidy payments for supplying 13,364,284 and 20,014,627 litres of PMS from Ex- MT Gavros and Ex-MT Nippon Princess. The quartet of Walter Wagbatsuma, Adaoha Ugo-Ngadi, Fakunde Babafemi and Ezekiel Ejide, alongside their company — Ontario Oil and Gas Ltd — will also be arraigned before Abiru. They are also facing a 9-count charge bothering on conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretext, forgery and use of false documents.

The EFCC, in the charge sheet signed by Mrs O.O. Fatunde, alleged that the accused persons fraudulently obtained over N1.9 billion from the Federal Government under the Petroleum Support Fund from July to December 2010. All the accused persons were also alleged to have forged bills of lading and other vital documents which they allegedly used in perpetrating the fraud. The anti-graft agency said their alleged offences contravened Sections 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act of 2006. The offences also contravened Sections 467 and 468 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Lagos State 2003, it added.