N789.6m Oil Subsidy Scam: EFCC Faults Downsteam Energy Resources No- Case Submission
Adetokunbo Fakeye
Nigeria anti-graft agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, faulted an application for a no- case submission by Downstream Energy Resources and four others, before a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja.
The four other parties: Alhaji Adamu Aliyu Maula; Rocky Energy Limited, George Ogbonna and Emmanuel Morah are defendants in a a case of conspiracy to obtain property by false pretence; conspiracy to forge documents, forgery and uttering false documents to the tune of N789,648,329.25( Seven Hundred and Eighty Nine Million, Six Hundred and Forty Eight Thousand, Three Hundred and Twenty Nine Naira, Twenty-Five Kobo), being payments fraudulently received from the Petroleum Support Fund for a purported supply of 14,273,0227 litres of Premium Motor Spirit.
At the resumed hearing of the case on Tuesday, counsel to the EFCC, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, told the court that, the fact that the five defendants filed applications and arguments against the charges imputed to them by the EFCC, showed that “there is a case”. He, therefore, prayed the court to dismiss their applications and order them to prepare for trial. “We had already filed a 12-paragraph counter-affidavit dated September 24, 2015. We humbly urge your Lordship to take our address as an argument and to dismiss all applications filed by the defendants. My Lord, the fact that they have filed arguments shows that there is a case”, he said.
Earlier in the session, counsel to the first and second defendants, Samusideen Abubakar, Informed the court of his application for no- case submission, dated May 11, 2015 which was supported by a 12-paragraph affidavit. He said “My Lord, we have filed our application on point of law and we urge the court to discharge the first and second accused persons in this matter”. Also, counsel to the third and fifth defendant, Ubena Amino, and counsel to the fourth defendant, Prof. A.B. Kasumu, SAN, all aligned to the submissions made by other defence counsels.
The presiding judge, Justice Lateefa Okunnu, after listening to counsel, adjourned the case till November 17, 2015, for ruling
