The Federal High Court Lagos has once again been forced to adjourn, till March 8, the trial of a petroleum marketer, Olaniran Ogundipe and his company, Petroleum Broker Nigeria Limited, for an alleged N1.323, 162, 160.76 fuel subsidy fraud, because the prosecutor could not present the documents required to prosecute the case.
The same thing had happened when Ogundipe and his company were first arraigned before the court on March 19, 2014.
The court presided over by Justice Hadizat Rabiu Shagari, had been forced to adjourn the matter following the inability of the prosecutor, Abdullahi Dania, to furnish the court with original copies of the documents he intended to use in prosecuting the case.
At the resumed trial of the matter, on Thursday, the prosecutor again informed the court that the original documents he ought to tender in the matter were with his co-prosecutor, Mr. Effiong Asuquo, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), who now heads another legal department of the police at State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Lagos.
Justice Shagari urged the prosecutor to make concerted efforts to get the original copies of the required documents and went on to fix March 8 for the continuation of trial.
Meanwhile, in an amended criminal charge, marked FHC/L/321c/2013, jointly signed by Dania Abdulai and Effiong Asuquo, which was filed before the court, the federal government alleged that the defendants (Ogundipe and his company, Petroleum Broker Nigeria Limited) and other persons now at large, had between January and April, 2011, with intent to defraud the Federal Government of Nigeria, obtained the sum of N1.323, 162, 160.76 as subsidy payment from the Federal Government under false pretence that they had imported and sold 17,837,160 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol, in the country, via MT Aidin (Ex MT Stena FR8), without any importation of petrol.
The defendants were also alleged to have, around January to April, 2011, forged import and vessels documents, which they used to obtain the sum of N1.323, 162,160.79 from the Federal Government of Nigeria as fuel subsidy payment.
Further, the accused and his company were also alleged to have, between January and April 2011, with intent to defraud the Federal Government of Nigeria, forged Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc. Marine Certificate number 0006108, dated February 18, 2011, with Sum Insured of N2, 232,736,022 and Premium of N4, 688,745.00 for 15,000 metrics tonne of petrol, as per Pro Forma invoice number 1025-11 and Form M number 418007, which they used to obtain the fuel subsidy payment.
The defendants were also alleged to have, within the same period, forged a Certificate of Quality, which they claimed to have been issued by SGS Inspection Services Nigeria Limited and used it to obtain the payment for the fuel subsidy.