The plan by the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to arraign more persons implicated in the
billion naira fuel subsidy scam today (March 5, 2014) prevented further hearing
in the trial A.S.B. Investment Company Limited, Aro Samuel Bamidele and Abiodun
Kayode Bankole at a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja and presided over by
Justice Lateefa Okunnu.
The trio are facing an 18-count
charge bordering on conspiracy to obtain by false pretence, forgery and
uttering of documents for allegedly
stealing N1.341,471,735.67 (One Billion,
Three Hundred and Forty One Million, Four Hundred and Seventy One Thousand,
Seven Hundred and Thirty-Five Naira, Sixty-Seven Kobo only) as subsidy for imported
fuel,
At the resumed hearing Wednesday, Counsel to the EFCC, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN told the
court that, the EFCC will amend the charges against the defendants because of
new suspects involved in the scam, who will soon be arraigned before the court.
Lead defence counsel, Anthony
Idigbe, SAN, did not raise any objection. According to him “it is the
prosecution’s case” and should be allowed to go the way the EFCC wants it.
The defendants, it would be
recalled, allegedly received
N1,265,204,348.20 and N76,267,387.47 purportedly as subsidy for the
supply of 17,989,540.00 and 20,021,873 litres respectively of premium motor
spirit. The products were falsely claimed to have been purchased from Nimex
Petroleum Limited and Duport International Limited in Europe and shipped into Nigeria through
MT Kirill Lavrov, MT Sea Voyager, MT Ballisaire, MT Cape Brunny and MT Union
Brave.
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