Justice Mojisola Dada of the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja on Tuesday convicted and sentenced Mamman Nasir Ali, son of former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national chairman, Ahmadu Ali, and a Sierra Leonean, Christian Taylor, to 14 years imprisonment each over a N2.2 billion oil subsidy fraud.
Justice Dada jailed Ali and Taylor alongside an Oil firm, Nasaman Oil Services Limited, after she found them guilty of an amended 57-count charge brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The defendants were first arraigned before the court in 2012 on a 49-count charge of conspiracy to obtain money by false pretences, obtaining money by false pretences, forgery, and the use of false documents.
The anti-graft agency claimed that the offences violated the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act of 2006 and the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011.
The EFCC, through its prosecutor, Seiduh Atteh, also accused the convicts of fraudulently obtaining N2.2 billion from the federal government under the petroleum subsidy scheme on or about September 9, 2011.
The anti-graft agency had told the court that the convicts presented forged documents, including a falsified “Gasoline Analysis” report for MT Overseas Limar, purportedly issued by Saybolt Concremat.
In her judgment, Justice Dada found the evidence presented by the prosecution compelling, ruling that the actions of the convicts not only defrauded the government but also undermined the integrity of Nigeria’s oil subsidy programme.
Apart from the jail term, the court also ordered the forfeiture of identified assets and accounts linked to the fraud.
The judge further issued a warrant for the arrest of Oluwaseun Ogunbambo and Olabisi Abdul Afeez, two other suspects still at large.
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