The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) former chairman, Ahmadu Ali’s son, Mamman, and his partner, Christian Taylor, have been sentenced to 14 years imprisonment by a Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos State for their roles in a ₦2.2 billion fuel subsidy fraud.
The two oil marketers were sentenced by Justice Mojisola Dada following their inability to prove their innocence before the court after they were dragged to court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The duo, along with their company, Nasaman Oil Services Limited, were sentenced on Tuesday through an amended 57-count charge after new evidence emerged during proceedings on the case.
They had originally been arraigned on 49 counts accusing them of conspiracy to obtain money by false pretence, forgery, and using falsified documents. All three defendants pleaded not guilty.
One count detailed how, on November 9, 2011, the marketers and two now-fugitive accomplices allegedly conspired “to obtain the sum of N749,991,273.36 … by falsely claiming that the sum represented subsidy accruing to Nasaman Oil Services Ltd under the Petroleum Support Fund for the importation of 10,031,986 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) … which representation you knew to be false.”
Another count accused them of similarly defrauding the government of N1,480,074,125.61 on April 11, 2011, by claiming subsidy on 20,492,982.50 litres of PMS purportedly imported through shell companies in the British Virgin Islands.
Following Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo’s withdrawal from the matter, the case was reassigned to Justice Dada.
During the trial, the Prosecutor, Seiduh Atteh, called several witnesses and tendered documentary evidence to establish how the subsidies were claimed without the requisite importation taking place.
Delivering her judgment, Dada described the defendants’ actions as “not only a serious breach of trust, but an assault on the integrity of Nigeria’s oil subsidy programme.”
The judge added that the prosecution’s evidence was compelling and convicted Ali and Taylor on all counts.
In addition to the prison terms, Justice Dada ordered the forfeiture of assets and bank accounts linked to the fraudulent transactions.
She also issued warrants for the arrest of two other suspects—Oluwaseun Ogunbambo and Olabisi Abdul-Afeez—who remain at large.
