Former PDP Chairman’s Son Re-arraigned By EFCC Over Alleged Oil Subsidy Fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday re-arraigned Mamman Ali, son of a former National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ahmadu Ali, for alleged N2.2 billion oil subsidy fraud.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ali was re-arraigned with one Christian Taylor and a company, Nasaman Oil Services Ltd. before an Ikeja Special Offences Court.

The defendants were arraigned on an amended 49-count charge bordering on conspiracy to receive money by false pretences, receiving money by false pretences, forgery and use of doctored documents.

They, however, pleaded not guilty to all the counts.

Following their plea, EFCC counsel, Samuel Atteh, asked the court for a trial date to enable prosecution to call its witnesses and make readily available necessary documents to prove the case.

Defence counsel, Kolade Obafemi asked the court to allow the defendants to continue on the bail granted to them earlier.

“We crave your lordship’s indulgence that the bail granted to the defendants be allowed to continue,” he said.

The EFCC counsel, however, submitted that the most important for prosecution was defendants’ attendance in court to face trial.

“Our interest is that the defendants attend trial; so, we leave the decision about bail to the discretion of this honourable court,” Atteh said.

The defence counsel were unable to immediately present the defendants’ bail papers to the court.

The judge invariably, ordered that the defendants should remain in the EFCC custody pending presentation of the bail papers and a formal application for their bail.

Dada adjourned the case until May 30 for trial.

NAN reports that the defendants were at first arraigned before Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo.

However, Onigbanjo stepped down from the case on health grounds, prompting reassignment of the case to Dada.

The EFCC, in one of the counts, alleged that the defendants, with intent to defraud, conspired to receive N750 million from the Federal Government by falsely representing subsidy accruing to Nasaman Oil Services Ltd. under the Petroleum Support Fund for importation of 10,031,986 litres of Premium Motor Spirit which Nasaman Oil Services Ltd. purported to have bought from SEATAC Petroleum Ltd. of British Virgin Islands and brought into Nigeria through MT Liquid Fortune Ltd.

The commission said that the defendants knew that the representation was not true.

According to the commission, the defendants committed the offences with one Oluwaseun Ogunbambo and one Olabisi Abdul-Afeez still at large, on Nov. 9 , 2011, in Ikeja.

The alleged offences contravene Sections 1(3), 8 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act of 2006, and Sections 363 (3)(1) and 264 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.