The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday arraigned three more oil marketers indicted in the fuel subsidy probe before a Lagos High Court in Ikeja.
Those arraigned before Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo include Oluwaseun Ogunbambo, Habila Theck and Fargo Petroleum and Gas Limited.
But a suspect, Olugbenga Adesanya, could not be arraigned alongside others before the court by the EFCC on the grounds that he was “still at large”.
The second batch of suspects? was among 17 oil marketers and seven oil companies indicted in the fuel subsidy fraud and slated for prosecution by the anti-graft agency.
The EFCC is prosecuting the accused persons on a six-count charge of conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretence, forgery and use of false documents.
According to the EFCC, the offences are contrary to section 8 and punishable under section 1 (1) (2) (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud-related Offences Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.
The anti-graft agency further alleged that the offences are contrary to sections 363 and 364 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria No 11, Laws of Lagos State 2011.
The commission had claimed that the accused persons and the oil company on February 10, 2012, with intent to defraud, conspired to fraudulently obtain N976,653,110.28? from the Federal Government of Nigeria through false pretence. It also alleged that the said sum represented subsidy accruing on importation of 13,627,084 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) purportedly purchased from Sealac Petroleun Limited and imported into Nigeria through MT Diplomat Ex mT Milleura which representation they knew to be false”.
EFCC also alleged that the accused persons and the oil company had on October 14, 2011, Lagos with intent to defraud by obtaining money by false pretence from the Federal Government of Nigeria, under the Petroleum Support Fund, forged a document titled “Certificate of Origin, Port of Loading Antwerp Belgium” dated October 14, 2011,” purporting the document? to have been issued by Seatac Petroleum Limited”.
But when the charges were read to the accused persons, they pleaded not guilty to each of the six-count charge.
Lawyer to the accused, Mr. Babajide Koku (SAN), told the court that he had two applications for the bail of the accused persons, one of which was dated July 25, 2012, and forwarded to the court last week and a new one filed yesterday morning.
Koku also urged the court to strike out the bail application dated July 25 and substitute it with the new bail application.
He told the court that the new application was informed by the need to react to the counter-affidavit of the prosecution which opposed bail for the 1st accused person.
The prosecuting lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, told the court that he would have moved his application but that he needed time to react to some fundamental issues raised in the new application of the defence served on him yesterday morning.
Koku asked for a short adjournment to enable parties react to all applications before the court.
Conceding the need for an adjournment, the prosecution urged the court to order that the accused persons be remanded in the custody of the EFCC pending when their applications for bail will be argued.
Justice Onigbanjo granted the request of the defence and adjourned the matter till August 1, 2012, for argument of bail application.
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