N1.05 Bn Subsidy Fraud: EFCC tenders five exhibits

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday November 29, 2012, presented five exhibits in the on-going trial of Alhaji Saminu Rabiu, Jubril Rowaye, Alminnur Resources Limited and Brila Energy Limited who are being prosecuted before Justice Adebukola Banjoko of the FCT High Court on a 17 Criminal Count Charge of fraud, false pretence and embezzlement to the tune of One Billion, Fifty One Million, Thirty Thousand, Four Hundred and Thirty Four Naira, Sixty-Three Kobo (N1, 051,030,434.63)

The exhibits were presented by the EFCC while examining a prosecution witness, Mr. Wole Adamolekun who is the General Manager, Operations, Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA.

The exhibits presented includes the Permit granted Alminnur Resources Limited; the Check-list of the requirements for importation of Petroleum Motor Spirit, PMS; EFCC’s letter to PPPRA dated January 16, 2012; PPPRA reply to EFCC dated January 16, 2012; banded documentation submitted by Alminnur Resources Limited showing supply of 5,000 metric tonnes of PMS and another banded documentation from Alminnur Resources Limited in respected of the supply of 4,966.191 metric tonnes of PMS.

Justice Adebunkola who received the documents in evidence from the EFCC Prosecution Counsel, Sylvanus Tahir and marked them as exhibit “A”, “B”, “C1”, “C2”, “D” and “E” respectively, adjourned the case to 18^th through 22^nd February, 2013 for accelerated hearing .

The EFCC had on October 17, 2012, arraigned the quartet of Alhaji Saminu Rabiu, Jubril Rowaye, Alminnur Resources Limited and Brila Energy Limited before Justice Banjoko over allegations of defrauding the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) by submitting false documents and making false claims from the Petroleum Support Fund, as subsidy payment to Alminnur Resources Limited.

One of the charge reads, “That you, Alhaji Saminu Rabiu, Jubril Rowaye, ALMINNUR RESOURCES LTD and BRILA ENERGY LTD sometime in May, 2011 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja with intent to defraud, did conspire to do an illegal act to wit; to obtain the sum of N1,051,030,434.53 (One Billion, Fifty One Million, Thirty Thousand, Four Hundred and Thirty Four Naira, Sixty-Three Kobo) from the Federal Government of Nigeria by false pretence that the said sum represented subsidy payment accruing to ALMINNUR RESOURCES LTD for the purported importation of 10,000 MT of Premium Motor Spirit(PMS) which you claimed to have purchased from Napa Petroleum Trade Inc and imported into Nigeria through the Mother Vessel, Mt Kriti Akti, which representation you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 8(a) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under section 1(3) of the same Act.”