After a court room drama had delayed judgement for 13 days since January 13, the Managing Director of Ontario Oil and Gas Nigeria Limited, Mrs Adaoha Ugo-Ndagi, has finally bagged a 10-year jail term.
Ugo-Ndagi was one of those standing trial in a N1.7billion oil subsidy theft case at a Lagos High Court, Ikeja.
But, she fainted on January 13 as the judge was about to pronounce sentence after finding the suspects guilty on all counts. The Judge had to shift the judgement day to January 16, which also failed to see Ugo-Ndagi jailed because of her admission at a hospital.
Justice Okunnu had convicted Ugo-Ndagi and another oil marketer, Walter Wagbatsoma, who were accused by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of defrauding the Federal Government of N1.9billion that was later found to be N1.7billion in court.
The Court found them guilty of obtaining N754million from the government through the petroleum product subsidy support fund using fake documents.
Reading the judgement, Okunnu said, “The defendants defrauded the Federal Government of N340million in the third quarter of 2010, and N414million in the fourth quarter of 2010.
“According to a forensic audit by Akintola Williams Delloitte, the defendants did not remit an excess of N754million to the Federal Government.”
They were arraigned on an eight count charge of conspiracy, obtaining property by false pretense, forgery and altering of documents.
The conviction was the first of its kind since the prosecution of oil subsidy fraud charges began in 2012.
While delivering judgment in the 5-year-old case, Justice Okunnu held that the prosecution had been able to prove its case against the convicts beyond all reasonable doubt.
The judge stressed that the convicts knew that the documents they presented to the government to claim subsidy were forged, but they presented them anyway to derive undeserved benefits.
On the issue of conspiracy, the court agreed with the prosecution, stating that there was a meeting of minds as the actions of the convicts was well planned and coordinated to achieve a common criminal goal.
The Judge had held on January 13: “On the strength of the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses and the volumes of material evidence, I hereby find the defendants guilty on all counts and they are hereby convicted.”
Justice Okunnu, however, discharged and acquitted a third defendant, Babafemi Fakuade, an official of Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) for lack of evidence linking him to the crime.
While pronouncing Wagbatsoma guilty, the judge said: “The first defendant knowingly received the sum in excess of what the fourth defendant (Ontario Oil and Gas Limited) was entitled to.
“In my opinion, he contributed to the false pretense.”
On Ugo-Ngadi, she said: “The second defendant is the MD of the company; she is the alter-ego of the fourth defendant and was aware of the goings on of the company.
“I find it easy to find a meeting of minds to defraud the Federal Government, the defendants were well aware of the forgery of the Shore Quantity Certificate.
“The Federal Government suffered prejudice as a result of the certificate forgery.
“In the event, I find the first, second and third defendants guilty of the offence of forgery.
“There was a meeting of minds to pull off such a crime.”
While acquitting Fakuade, Okunnu said: “The case before the third defendant is that he helped in forging the Shore Quality Certificate, what I see before me is that he only signed the document while acting in his capacity as an PPRA official.
“It is not right in criminal cases to infer guilt without concrete evidence, there is no proof that he was aware that the documents were false.
“The prosecution has not been able to prove the case of forgery against the third defendant.”
In holding Wagbatsoma, Ugo-Ngadi and Ontario Oil liable for the offences, Okunnu also ruled: “I find the allegations of obtaining by false pretences in relation to the first, second and fourth defendants to be true.
“They were all `particeps criminis’ and uttered the document, they are, therefore, guilty of the offences in the amended charge.”
Lawyer to Fakuade, B.A. Ayeni, in an emotion-laden speech, thanked Okunnu for acquitting his client.
Ayeni said: “I thank Your Lordship for acquitting the third defendant.”
In his allocutus, counsel to Ugo-Ngadi, E.A. Onyeke, had told the judge to temper justice with mercy.
Onyeke said: “The second defendant has health challenges, in the course of the trial, she has had cause to visit doctors abroad to take care of her health issues as the healthcare system in Nigeria.
“A custodial sentence will damage her health because of the nature of our prison system.
“She is a mother of very young children and her husband also had health challenges and there will be no one to adequately take care of the children.
“As the MD, she is an employer of labour whose workers depend on her managerial abilities, her workers will suffer more than necessary especially in this period of recession.”
Onyeke noted that Ontario Oil and Gas Limited had already made restitution to the Federal Government.
He said: “The Federal Government and the defendants have had meetings, which has led to the refund of the sum of N754 million.
“The government that brought them to court knows the value of their policies and had continued to do business with them.
“It is our humble plea that court grants her a custodial sentence starting from the day she was arraigned.”
Responding, the counsel to the EFCC, Rotimi Jacob (SAN), requested for a stiff sentence.
Jacob said: “The minimum sentence of the offences for which the convicts have been convicted is seven years.
“Claims that the Federal Government had a restitution are not to my knowledge. There must be an order of restitution to the victim given by the court.
“A custodial sentence will be sending a wrong signal to the public that the rich cannot go to prison and will be a hindrance to our fight against corruption.
“There is also no medical report regarding the alleged ill health of the defendant and the prison has medical facilities, if they can provide for the poor, they can provide for the rich.
“There is no evidence that she has young children or is a nursing mother before the court, if she is a nursing mother, there are facilities in the prison that cater to nursing mothers.
“Regarding the Federal Government transacting business with Ontario Oil and Gas, the status of the company was unknown.
“The government was transacting business with them on the presumption of innocence and now that they are no longer innocent, they must face the consequences of their act.”
Wagbatsoma, the Chairman of Ontario Oil & Gas Limited, had earlier jumped bail by travelling outside the country without court permission.
He was later arrested by United Kingdom authorities in Germany
Wagbatsoma, who is being accused of involvement in a multi-million pound fraud case, had already appeared at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court in London.
The investigation against Wagbatsoma commenced in September 2011 following a report of fraud involving Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
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good news. Besutifool thief