The Lagos Special Offences Court sentenced two oil marketers, Mamman Nasir Ali and Christian Taylor, to 14 years in prison each for their roles in a N2.2 billion oil subsidy fraud.
The defendants were found guilty of defrauding the Federal Government by making false claims about the petroleum subsidy program, according to the verdict delivered by Justice Mojisola Dada, who is in charge of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos.
The conviction was confirmed on Tuesday by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which handled the case, through its official X platform.
The EFCC stated that the judgment “underscores the unwavering commitment of the Commission to combating economic crimes and ensuring justice is served.”
Ali and Taylor were re-arraigned alongside their company, Nasaman Oil Services Limited, on an amended 57-count charge, following new findings during the ongoing investigation. Their initial arraignment had been on a 49-count charge, which included conspiracy to obtain money by false pretence, forgery, and the use of false documents.
According to court documents, the fraudulent activities involved inflated claims for the importation of Premium Motor Spirit.
One of the charges detailed how, on or about November 9, 2011, the defendants, along with others still at large (Oluwaseun Ogunbambo and Olabisi Abdul-Afeez), conspired to “obtain the sum of N749,991,273.36… from the Federal Government of Nigeria 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 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 Ex MT Overseas Lima, which representation you knew to be false.”
Another count further elaborated on their scheme, stating that on or about April 11, 2011, the defendants fraudulently “obtained the sum of N1,480,074,125.61… from the Federal Government of Nigeria by claiming that the sum represented subsidy accruing to Nasaman Oil Services Ltd under the Petroleum Support Fund for the importation of 20,492,982.50 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), 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 Ex Mt. Hellenic Blue and Ex MT. Milleura, which representation you knew to be false.”
The defendants had pleaded not guilty to all charges. The case initially commenced before Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo of the Lagos State High Court, but was later re-assigned to Justice Dada following Justice Onigbanjo’s withdrawal.
During the trial, the prosecution, led by Seiduh Atteh, presented compelling evidence, including witness testimonies and various documents, all of which were admitted by the court.
In her judgment, Justice Dada reviewed the evidence and concluded that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
She emphasised that the actions of Ali and Taylor not only defrauded the Nigerian government of substantial public funds but also significantly undermined the integrity of the nation’s critical oil subsidy program.
The EFCC’s statement on X reiterated that “this verdict serves as a strong deterrent to others who may contemplate similar fraudulent activities.”
