Alleged oil subsidy fraud: Witness’s absence stalls ex-PDP chairman’s son’s trial

The trial of Mamman Ali, son of a former PDP National Chairman, Ahmadu Ali, charged with N2.2 billion subsidy fraud, was on Friday stalled due to absence of a prosecution witness.

Ali is standing trial alongside Christian Taylor and Nasaman Oil Services Ltd on a 49-count charge bordering on conspiracy to obtain money by false pretences, obtaining money by false pretences, forgery and use of false documents.

The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty during re-arraignment on March 24, 2023.

The charge was preferred against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

They were initially charged before Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo but the judge withdrew from the case on health grounds.

This prompted the re-assignment of the case to Justice Mojisola Dada of an Ikeja Special Offences Court.

When the case was called on Friday, EFCC counsel, Mr Seidu Atteh, informed the court that one of the witnesses was indisposed and the other had flight issues, praying for an adjournment.

However, there was no objection by defence counsel, Mr Kolade Obafemi, leading to Dada adjourning the trial until March 25.

The anti-graft agency, in one of the counts, alleged that the defendants, with intent to defraud, conspired to obtain 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 purchased from SEATAC Petroleum Ltd. of British Virgin Islands and imported into Nigeria through MT Liquid Fortune Ltd.

The commission said that the defendants knew that the representation was false.

According to EFCC, the defendants committed the offences with one Oluwaseun Ogunbambo and one Olabisi Abdul-Afeez, still at large, on April 11, 2011 and 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.