Nairametrics| After almost 5 years that the massive oil subsidy fraud allegedly perpetuated by oil marketers was uncovered in the petroleum industry in 2012, an Ikeja High Court has sentenced some of the suspects to prison terms. The EFCC had taken the suspects to court following their arrest about 5 years ago.
Justice Lateefa Okunnu of an Ikeja High Court yesterday sentenced the Managing Director of Ontario Oil and Gas Limited, Mrs Adaoha Ugo-Nnadi to 10 years in prison for defrauding the Federal Government of N754 million in oil subsidy transactions.
Already, Walter Wagbatsoma, Ugo-Nnadi’s co-defendant and the Chairman of Ontario Oil and Gas Limited is facing court action respecting charges relating to a £12 million National Health Service (NHS) Trust fraud in the United Kingdom.
In her judgment, justice Okunnu sentenced Wagbatsoma and Ugo-Nnadi to a minimum of 10 years in prison for the six-count charge proffered against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
“For each of the counts of conspiracy to obtain money under false pretenses the defendants are sentenced to ten years in prison. For each of the counts of obtaining money by false pretenses, the defendants are sentenced ten years in prison. “For the count of conspiracy to commit forgery the defendants are sentenced to seven years in prison, for the offence of forgery the defendants are sentenced to eight years in prison,” Okunnu said
In addition, the court ordered that he N754 million which was defrauded by the company should be returned to the Federal Government, while the sentences were to run concurrently.