27 June 2014, Lagos – The Debt Management Office (DMO) has told an Ikeja High Court that an oil firm, Brila Energy Ltd., received a subsidy payment of N963.7 million.
An employee of DMO, Mr Olayiwola Popoola, confirmed this while testifying before Justice Lateefat Okunnu.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Brila Energy and its Managing Director, Rowaye Jubril, are standing trial for alleged fuel subsidy fraud.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alleged that the defendants did not import the fuel for which they collected the subsidy.
Led in evidence by the EFCC counsel, Mr Seidu Atteh, the witness said the payment was made to Brila Energy for the purported importation of 13,500 metric tonnes of petrol.
A Sovereign Debt Note (SDN) was issued in favour of the company in line with the advice sent to us by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA).
It is the SDN that the Central Bank of Nigeria uses in making payments to oil marketers and a representative of Brila Energy collected the SDN,” Popoola said.
Atteh said there was no evidence that the SDN was returned unpaid by the CBN.
Also testifying, another witness, Mr David Agama of the PPPRA, told the court how the subsidy claim tendered by the defendants was processed.
Agama said from the documents presented to the PPPRA, the fuel was imported from Brazil through MT Overseas Lima as the Mother Vessel.
He said the first daughter vessel was MT Delphina while MT Danni 1 was the second daughter vessel.
From the documents, MT Danni 1 discharged the 13,000 metric tonnes of PMS at Obat Jetty in Lagos.
I went through the various checks and it was endorsed by the various agencies and organisations involved in the importation of fuel,” the witness said.
Agama said he later processed the transaction and forwarded it to the PPPRA for payment of the subsidy claim.
The case was adjourned to July 3 for continuation of trial.
– Daily Independent