23 January 2014, Lagos – An investigative officer with the Economic and Finmancial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Abdullahi Mohammed, yesterday, claimed that an oil marketer, Rowaye Jubril, only sourced the petroleum product locally for which he obtained N963.7 million subsidy payment from the Federal Government.
According to the witness, the defendant defrauded the government of the fund as he was not entitled to subsidy payment on the product he sourced locally.
Mohammed made the disclosure at the resumption of Jubril’s trial before Justice Lateefat Okunnu of an Ikeja High Court.
Jubril is standing trial alongside his company Brila Energy Ltd for allegedly obtaining the money for the purported importation of 13,500 metric tonnes of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS.
The witness said the defendant actually obtained the products from other vessels within Nigeria which did not make him entitled to any subsidy from the government.
He said: “The defendant claim that there was a ship to ship transfer of the product between the mother vessel, MT Overseas Lima and the first daughter vessel, MT Delphina.
“According to him, the said transfer took place between January 26 and 27,2011 at off- shore Cotonou, in Benin Republic.
“However, our investigations showed that MT Overseas Lima was not in West African coast during that period hence it was impossible for the transfer to have taken place.”
Mohammed who was part of the special team which investigated the fraud in the Petroleum Support Fund, PSF, scheme, said from the investigation carried out by the team, it was discovered that the defendant did not import the products as he had claimed to the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency, PPPRA.
According to him, the defendant actually obtained the products from other vessels within Nigeria which did not permit him to collect any subsidy from the government.
– AbdulWahab Abdulah, Vanguard