Court Jails Ex-NOGASA Chairman For 21 Years Over N43.5m Fraud

Justice Mojisola Dada of the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja on Monday convicted and sentenced Fatuyi Philips, Chairman of the Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria (NOGASA), to 21 years imprisonment for his involvement in an N43.5 million fraud.

Justice Dada delivered the verdict after finding Philips guilty of a two-count charge of fraud and obtaining money by false pretence brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The EFCC had arraigned the convict before the judge on April 7, 2022, alongside Oceanview Oil and Gas Nigeria Limited for defrauding his victims of N43,502,000.

He had pleaded not guilty to the charge, which led to the commencement of his trial on April 30, 2022.

In her judgment on Monday, Justice Dada held that the prosecution had proved the case against the convict beyond all reasonable doubt and, therefore, sentenced him to 14 years for Count 1 and 7 years for Count 2.

The judge held that Philips failed to pay the Naira equivalent to the nominal complainant, marking the case as one that could not be further delayed.

The court noted that $8,000 had been recovered from the convict during the investigation and highlighted his blatant lack of remorse.

“The first defendant never intended to provide the nominal complainant with the Naira equivalent of the Dollar,” she held.

Justice Dada also ordered the convict to fully restitute the sum of N43.5 million to the nominal complainant within 90 days of the judgment.

She further directed Oceanview Oil and Gas Nigeria Limited to pay a fine of N500,000 for Count 1 and N250,000 for the second court charge within 30 days or face immediate winding up.