Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, at the weekend, secured the conviction and sentence of two oil thieves, Oghenovo Emmanuel and Abdullahi Hassan Bika to five years imprisonment, before Justice M. L. Abubakar of the Federal High Court, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Emmanuel and Bika were arrested by operatives of the Nigerian Naval Base, Port Harcourt on December 1st, 2019 during an anti-bunkering operations in Sambreiro River, for illegal dealing in petroleum products.
On January 9th, 2020, they were handed over to EFCC for investigation and prosecution. Further investigation showed that about eight defendants were arrested alongside a tanker, Lady Ochy, loaded with unspecified quantity of illegally refined petroleum products.
The convicts were arraigned by the Port Harcourt Zonal Office of EFCC on one-count separate charge bordering on illegal dealing in petroleum products, contrary to Section 1 (17) (a) of the Miscellaneous offences Act, CAP P17 LFN 2004, and punishable under Section 1 (17 ) (b) of the same Act.
The convicts, however, pleaded “guilty” to the charge preferred against them by the EFCC.
One of the count charge read: “That you Oghenovo Emmanuel, on or about 29th day of November, 2019 around Sambreino River, Rivers State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did without lawful authority and appropriate license deal in Petroleum Product and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 (17) (a) of the Miscellaneous offences Act, CAP P17 LFN 2004, and punishable under Section 1 (17 ) (b) of the same Act.
Another count read: That you Abdullahi Hassan Bika on or about 29th day day of November, 2019 around Sambreino River, Rivers State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did without lawful authority and appropriate license deal in Petroleum Product and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 (17) (a) of the Miscellaneous offences Act, CAP P17 LFN 2004, and punishable under Section 1 (17 ) (b) of the same Act.”
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While reviewing facts of the case, prosecution counsel, M .T Iko, tendered some documents and prayed the court to accept same in evidence, in convicting the defendants accordingly.
The documents included: a hand over note from Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS Pathfinder; a letter of response from the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR; statement of the defendants and a letter of response from National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA.
They were accepted by the court as evidence and marked as exhibits A, B,C and D, respectively.
In view of the exhibits tendered, prosecuting counsel, M . T Iko, urged the court to convict and sentence the defendant as charged.
However, counsel to the defendants, R. U. Oyiwona, prayed the court to temper justice with mercy, stressing that the defendants were bread winners of their families.
Justice Abubakar convicted and sentenced the defendants to five years imprisonment each, with an option of fine of N150,000.
