A Tinubu Magistrates’ Court, Lagos on Thursday remanded Patrick Ubah Managing Director, Capital Oil and Gas in custody of Police Special Fraud Unit (SFU), Lagos over alleged N43.291 billion fuel subsidy scam.
Also charged and remanded with Ubah are; Head of Trading, Nsikan Usoro, 35, Depot Manager, Godfrey Okorie, 41, General Manager, Chibuzor Ogbuokiri, 48; and Orji Anayo, 46, Executive Director (Operations).
Magistrate Martins Owumi ordered that the accused are to remain in SFU custody for 14 days pending the advice from the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP).
Ruling on application for remand brought against the accused by the police, Owumi observed that the court might not have the jurisdiction to entertain the case.
“In view of the application for the remand of the accused and considering the amount of N43.291 billion involved, the court may not have the jurisdiction to hear this case.
“Pursuance to Section 264(1), I hereby order that the accused be remanded in SFU Custody for 14 days pending the DPP’s advice,” he said.
He, however, said that the accused could still argue their case by way of a written motion formerly to the court.
The police prosecutor, SP Asuquo Effiong, had in an application pursuance to Section 264 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law, 2011, Lagos, and dated Oct. 11 prayed the court to remand the accused over an alleged five-count charge.
The charges included economic sabotage, obtaining money under false pretences, stealing N43.291 billion that belonged to the Federal Government, money laundering and forgery.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the application was supported by a 13-point affidavit.
Effiong had alleged that the suspects defrauded the Federal Government of N43.291 billion by falsely pretending to have imported and sold 538, 74 million litres of premium motor spirit (PMS).
He said that the fraud was discovered by the Presidential Committee on the Verification and Reconciliation of Fuel Subsidy Payments Auditors and reported to the SFU, Ikoyi.
The prosecutor alleged that the fraud constitute the crime of economic sabotage and capable of undermining the security of the country.
Asuquo said that most of the evidence and exhibits of the acts might be destroyed by the suspects and there was “a great risk of the suspects escaping’’ out of the country if they were released at this stage of investigation.
In his argument, Mr Joseph Nwobike, lead counsel to the accused, had prayed the court to reject the application and to admit the accused to bail.
Nwobike hinged his prayer pursuance to Section 264(5) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos which gave wide discretionary powers to magistrates in granting bail.
The case was adjourned till Oct. 31 for mention.
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