SFU arraigns oil firms, MDs for subsidy fraud

The Special Fraud Unit of the Nigeria Police Force on Monday arraigned four oil firms before a Federal High Court Ikoyi on seven counts of fuel subsidy scam.

The managing directors of two of the firms also appeared before Justice Mohammed Kurya for the alleged fraud.

The defendants were said to have defrauded the Federal Government of N2.9bn.

They are Oando PLC, Geacan Energy Limited, Petroleum Brokers Limited and Lister Oil Limited.

The directors are Chinyere Nweze (MD Geacan Energy) and Ogundipe Olaniran (MD Petroleum Brokers Limited).

SFU alleged that Nweze, Olaniran and others, who were at large, had obtained the s N1.6bn as fuel subsidy from the Federal Government by falsely pretending to have imported petrol into the country.

Lister Oil Limited and Oando Plc were said to have aided Geacan Energy and Petroleum Brokers Limited to falsely obtain another sum of N1.3bn on the pretext that Geacan Energy Limited had imported and sold 17.837.160.00 litres of petrol from January 2011 to April 2011.

SFU said the Presidential Committee on Verification and Reconciliation of Fuel Subsidy Payment, while carrying out 100 per cent verification of shore tank certificates and sales proceeds for all the fuel imported into Nigeria in 2011 under the petroleum subsidy fund scheme, discovered some infractions in the importation made by Geacan Energy against which about N2.9bn had been paid  as subsidy.

The charge read in part,

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