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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Wilson Uwujaren
Head, Media & Publicity
5th March. 2014