An Ikeja Special Offences Court has reserved until Sept.13 to deliver judgment in the case of two oil marketers, Ogbor Eliot and Kelvin Chris, charged with attempted N1.8bn oil fraud.
Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo adjourned the case until Sept.13 for judgment, following the adoption of the final written address of the counsels.
The defendants are standing trial alongside a company, Danium Energy Services Ltd on a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy, forgery and obtaining by false pretence.
The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
At today’s proceedings, in adopting the final written addresses, the counsels to the defendants unanimously prayed the court to discharge and acquit their respective clients, as they urged the court to hold that the prosecution had not proven the case against them.
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The Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC, counsel, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, in adopting his final written address, urged the court to dismiss the arguments of the defence, arguing that they lacked merit and to convict them as charged.
“The case against the defendants before your lordship is such that it is visible to the blind and audible to the deaf.
“I urged the court to take into cognizance that the defendants created an impression that Total Nigeria Plc issued to the defendants local purchase order reference numbers 330 and 331 for the supply of AGO.
“These two local purchase orders, gave the impression that Total Nigeria Plc contracted the third defendant to supply to it 10,000 metric tons per each of those LPOs for a particular sum.
“And so, the third defendant, armed with these LPOs, contracted new generation bank to finance the purported documents emanating from Total.
“The prosecution has shown to my lord the LPOs that were forged, and the original of the documents which Total said that the referenced documents in contention were not issued to the third defendant, ” he said.
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EFCC had alleged that the defendants and the company had attempted to fraudulently deceive the Bank into lending them money through a fraudulent scheme on the pretext to finance Local Purchase Order, (LPO) for 20,000 Metric Tonnes of Automotive Gas Oil, AGO, for supply to Total Nigeria Ltd.
The prosecution submitted that the defendants and the company had sometime in February 2016 in Lagos, with intent to defraud, conspired amongst themselves to obtain the sum of N1.8 billion by false pretence from a new generation bank.
EFCC also alleged the defendants, with intent to defraud, induced the bank to deliver to Danium Energy Services Ltd the total sum of N1.8 billion under the false pretence that Total Nigeria Plc vide Purchase Orders (PO) with Reference No. OPS/SUP/02/16/330 and OPS/SUP/02/331 dated Feb.3 2016, contracted Danium Energy Services Ltd to supply 20,000 metric tons of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) in two tranches of 10,000 metric tons each valued at the aggregate sum of N2.3 billion.
The defendants, had, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The prosecution said the alleged offences contravened Section 1(1) (a) (b) and 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006.
