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| Jubril |
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, 13
November, 2012 arraigned one Rowaye Jubril and his company Brila Energy Limited
before Justice Lateefa Okunnu of the Lagos State High Court
sitting in Ikeja on a 13 count charge bordering on forgery and
obtaining money under false pretences . Specifically, Jubril was alleged to
have obtained the sum of Nine Hundred and Sixty Three Million, Seven
Hundred and Ninety Six Thousand, One Hundred and Ninety-Nine Naira,
Eighty Five kobo (N963,796,199.85) from the Federal Government of Nigeria
under false pretences; claiming that the sum represented subsidy accruing to
Brila Energy Limited under the Petroleum Support Fund for the importation
of 13,155,807 MT or 17,393,767 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS)
which Brila Energy Limited purported to have purchased from NAPA Petroleum
Trade INC Panama and imported into Nigeria through M/T Overseas
Limar ( Mother Vessel), M/T Delphina (1st Daughter Vessel) and M/T
Dani I ( 2nd Daughter Vessel).
When the charges were read to Jubril, he pleaded not guilty to them.
Counsel to the accused person, Wale Ilesanmi told the court that he had
submitted an application for bail dated 30 October, 2012. He
said the application was supported by a written address urging the court to
grant the accused person bail on liberal terms. Ilesanmi informed the
court that Jubril had earlier been offered an administrative bail by the EFCC and
that the offences for which he was docked are bailable.
Prosecuting counsel, Seidu Atteh however opposed the bail
application. He told the court that with the severity of the offence, the
interest of the court and the prosecution will not be served if the accused
person is granted bail. He, however, prayed the court to attach stringent
conditions to any consideration of bail for the accused person.
After listening to both counsel, Justice Okunnu granted the accused
person bail in the sum of Seventy Five Million Naira (N75, 000,000.00) and two
sureties in like sum. The sureties are to swear to an affidavit of means and
must be residents of Lagos State. The sureties should be gainfully employed and
one of the sureties should own property of substantial value in Lagos State.
Besides, the judge ruled that, one of the sureties must be a member of
the Board of Directors of a public or a private quoted company, one of them
should also be a blood relation of the accused person. An operative of the EFCC
who participated in the investigation should within 72 hours verify and submit
all the sureties’ papers to the Registrar of the court for verification.
The court also bar the accused person from travelling out of the
country, directing that his International Passport be submitted to the court.
Also, the accused person will henceforth be reporting at the end of every month
at a stipulated date and time to the office of the EFCC.
Justice Okunnu ordered that the accused person be remanded in prisons
custody until conditions for bail are met. She adjourned the case to 23
and 24 November, 2012 for commencement of trial.
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