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Alleged N2.2bn Oil Subsidy Fraud: EFCC Presents Additional Witness Against Mamman Ali, One Other
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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Monday, March 25, 2024, presented another prosecution witness, Popoola Olayiwola, a staff of the Debt Management Office, DMO, against Mamman Nasir Ali and Christian Taylor, who are being prosecuted for an alleged N2.2bn oil subsidy fraud, before Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos.
They were arraigned alongside Nasaman Oil Services Limited on amended 49-count charges bordering on conspiracy to obtain money by false pretence, contrary to Section 8 and 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006; obtaining money by false pretences, contrary to Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006; forgery, contrary to Section 363 (3)(j) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011; and use of false documents contrary to Section 364 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011.
One of the counts reads: “Nasaman Oil Services Ltd, Mamman Nasir Ali, Christian Taylor, Oluwaseun Ogunbambo (now at large) and Olabisi Abdul-Afeez (still at large), on or about the 9th day of November 2011 at Lagos, within the Ikeja Judicial Division, with intent to defraud, conspired to obtain the sum of N749,991,273.36 (Seven Hundred and Forty-Nine Million, Nine Hundred and Ninety-One Thousand, Two Hundred and Seventy-Three Naira Thirty-six Kobo) from the Federal Government of Nigeria by falsely claiming that the sum of N749,991,273.36 represented subsidy accruing to Nasaman Oil Services Ltd under the Petroleum Support Fund for the importation of 10,031,986 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), which Nasaman Oil Services Ltd purported to have purchased from SEATAC Petroleum Ltd of British Virgin Islands and imported into Nigeria through MT Liquid Fortune Ltd of British Virgin Islands and imported into Nigeria through MT Liquid Fortune Ltd Ex MT Overseas Lima, which representation you knew to be false.”
Another count reads: “Nasaman Oil Services Ltd, Mamman Nasir Ali, Christian Taylor, Oluwaseun Ogunbambo (now at large) and Olabisi Abdul-Afeez (still at large),on or about the 11th day of April 2011 at Lagos, within the Ikeja Judicial Division, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of N1,480,074,125.61 (One Billion Four Hundred and Eighty Million, Seventy-Four Thousand, One Hundred and Twenty-Five Naira Sixty-One Kobo) from the Federal Government of Nigeria by claiming that the sum represented subsidy accruing to Nasaman Oil Services Ltd under the Petroleum Support Fund for the importation of 20,492,982.50 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS),which Nasaman Oil Services Ltd purported to have purchased from SEATAC Petroleum Ltd of British Virgin Islands and imported into Nigeria through MT Liquid Fortune Ex Mt. Hellenic Blue and Ex MT. Milleura, which representation you knew to be false.”
They pleaded “not guilty” to all the charges when they were read to them.
They were initially standing trial before Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos.
However, Justice Onigbanjo withdrew from the case,thereby prompting the re-assignment of the case to Justice Dada.
At the resumed sitting on Monday, the prosecution witness, Olayiwola, told the court that his designation was Operations Officer 1 as at the time the Sovereign Debt Note, SDN, in contention was issued.
Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, S.K. Atteh, Olayiwola said: “I’m Assistant Chief Operations Officer in the DMO now. In 2012, I was in charge of preparation of SDN in favour of oil marketers for their subsidy claim. I also prepare letters of issuance notification to the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and supervise the collection of SDN by oil marketers”.
Olayiwola told the court that he was also in charge of preparing redemption letters at the maturity of SDN to the CBN. “I also do reconciliation with CBN on the SDN,” he added.
Olayiwola explained that SDN was the short term financial instrument issued by the DMO under the Petroleum Support Fund, which was operated by the Federal Government of Nigeria between 2010 and 2015.
He further highlighted the various features of the SDN, which he said included the crest of the Federal Government, which is the issuer of the SDN; the amount of subsidy claimed/dues to oil marketers, a serial number that distinguishes each SDN in a batch of subsidy claim.
He said: “It also has an issue date, the maturity date, signature of the Director General, and DG of the DMO. When it is collected from the DMO, a photocopy of the ID card of the person who collected it is taken with a copy of the SDN.”
He also testified that he knew the company, Nasaman Oil Services Limited, as one the companies that he prepared SDN for in 2012.
“I got to know the company during the course of my duty at the DMO.
In total, according to the record available at the DMO, about five SDNs were prepared for Nasaman Oil Services Limited,” he said.
He, thereafter, identified in the open court two copies of the SDN, which were already before the court as Exhibit P13. “I can confirm that the two in contention were issued to Nasaman Oil Services Limited,” he said.
According to him, “Based on the exhibits before me, I can confirm that the person who collected the said SDN from the DMO is Christian Taylor, and he also acknowledged receipt.”
Identifying the two SDNs in contention, he said: “The amount involved for SDN with serial number FGN/2011/01/Y110586 is N749,991,273.36. “For the second SDN with serial number FGN/2012/01/B12B/0692, the amount is N1,480,074,125.61.”
The witness identified Christian H. Taylor in the dock, saying , “ He collected the two SDNs.”
Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, Abuja Region has announced a planned preventive maintenance at the Katampe 132/33 KiloVolt (kV) Transmission Substation on Saturday from 9:00am to 4:00pm.
General Manager, Public Affairs of the TCN, Mrs Ndidi Mbah, made this announcement in a statement in Abuja on Saturday.
Mbah said the scheduled maintenance is to enable TCN’s maintenance crew carry out preventive maintenance on the 100 Mega Volt Ampere (MVA) 132/33kV Power Transformer (TR1), its auxiliaries, and associated switchgear in the substation.
”Consequently, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC, will be unable to off-take bulk power for distribution to customers in parts of Mpape, Maitama, Jahi, Life Camp,
”Others are Kado Fish Market, Idu-Karmo, and their environs during the maintenance period,” she said.
According to her, the company regrets any inconvenience the planned outage may cause electricity customers in the affected areas.
She added that equipment maintenance is essential to ensure their continued optimal performance.
News
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei barred from father’s funeral rites over fear of potential assassination
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has reportedly been barred from attending the funeral of his late father, Ali Khamenei, over fears that he could be targeted in a potential attack.
According to U.S. media reports citing two members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iranian authoritiesl decided against allowing Mojtaba Khamenei to make a public appearance due to heightened security concerns and ongoing threats against senior Iranian leaders.
Reports in recent days had already indicated that the new Iranian leader was unlikely to attend the six-day funeral ceremonies because of security risks and fears of assassination attempts.
The funeral of Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a joint U.S.-Israeli airstrike earlier this year according to multiple reports, has drawn millions of mourners and heightened tensions across the Middle East.
Iran has announced a six-day state funeral and burial programme for late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, with ceremonies taking place across Iran and Iraq before his final interment in the holy city of Mashhad.
July 3-5: Lying in state and public mourning at the Grand Mosalla Mosque in Tehran.
July 6-8: Funeral processions and religious ceremonies in the Iranian cities of Qom and Mashhad, as well as the Iraqi holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.
July 9: Final burial in Mashhad, Khamenei’s hometown, at or near the revered Imam Reza Shrine, one of Shiite Islam’s holiest sites.
Iranian authorities expect the funeral to attract millions of mourners, making it one of the largest state funerals in the country’s history. Security measures have been significantly tightened, with reports indicating concerns over potential threats to senior Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
By Gloria Ikibah
Nigeria and Japan have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral relations, with both countries pledging to expand political engagement, deepen economic cooperation and boost trade and investment.
The renewed commitment was made during a courtesy visit by the Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of the Japanese Embassy, Shin Honda, to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, in Abuja.
The meeting reviewed the current state of Nigeria-Japan relations and explored ways to strengthen collaboration in areas including sustainable development, technology transfer and private sector investment.
Speaking during the meeting, Ambassador Enikanolaiye described Japan as one of Nigeria’s most valued development partners and praised the country’s remarkable progress in industrialisation and innovation.
The minister said Nigeria was keen to deepen economic relations with Japan by attracting greater investment into critical sectors of the economy.
He said: “Japan remains one of Nigeria’s valued development partners, and we commend the country’s achievements in industrialisation, technological innovation, manufacturing and heavy industries.
“Nigeria remains committed to deepening economic ties and attracting greater Japanese investment in key sectors of the economy. We also appreciate Japan’s longstanding support for Nigeria’s development priorities and reaffirm the Federal Government’s commitment to creating an enabling environment for stronger bilateral cooperation.”
He added that closer engagement between the private sectors of both countries would play a key role in driving investment, technology transfer and economic growth.
“We welcome stronger collaboration between the private sectors of both countries to boost investment, technology transfer and economic growth”, he said.
In response, Honda reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to expanding its strategic partnership with Nigeria through increased political consultations, trade, investment and development cooperation.
“Japan remains committed to strengthening its strategic partnership with Nigeria through enhanced political consultations, increased trade and investment, and continued development cooperation”, he said.
He highlighted Japan’s ongoing support for Nigeria in infrastructure development, agriculture, healthcare, humanitarian assistance and peacebuilding, while noting the contribution of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) in promoting commercial relations between both countries.
Honda also briefed the minister on preparations for the Nigeria-Japan Special Policy Dialogue, scheduled to take place in Abuja at the end of August during the visit of Japan’s Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs.
He said the planned visit to Japan later this year by Nigerian business magnate Aliko Dangote would further strengthen private sector cooperation.
“The proposed visit of Nigerian business leader, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, to Japan later this year will further strengthen private sector collaboration between both countries”, he stated.
Both countries reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring the success of the forthcoming Nigeria-Japan Special Policy Dialogue and agreed to sustain regular consultations aimed at advancing mutually beneficial cooperation.
The meeting underscored the long-standing friendship between Nigeria and Japan, with both sides expressing optimism that stronger diplomatic and economic engagement would deliver lasting benefits for the two nations.
TCN announces planned outage at Abuja transmission substation
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei barred from father’s funeral rites over fear of potential assassination
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