EFCC re-arraigns oil firm chief over alleged N1.4bn fraud
The Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday re-arraigned the Managing Director of Nadabo Energy Limited, Abubakar Ali Peters, over an alleged N1.4 billion oil subsidy fraud.
Peters and his company were re-arraigned before Justice Ismail Ijelu of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja.
The case was previously before Justice C.A. Balogun but was reassigned following the judge’s retirement.
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EFCC re-arraigns oil firm chief over alleged N1.4bn fraud
Nkereuwem Effiong
The Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday re-arraigned the Managing Director of Nadabo Energy Limited, Abubakar Ali Peters, over an alleged N1.4 billion oil subsidy fraud.
Peters and his company were re-arraigned before Justice Ismail Ijelu of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja.
The case was previously before Justice C.A. Balogun but was reassigned following the judge’s retirement.
The EFCC is prosecuting the defendants on a 27-count charge bordering on the alleged use of forged documents to obtain N1,464,961,978.24 from the Federal Government under the petroleum subsidy scheme.
According to the anti-graft agency, the defendants allegedly obtained N978,401,732.09 on 3 April 2012 by falsely claiming the sum as a subsidy for the importation of 19,488,992 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
The prosecution alleged that the product was purportedly sourced from Ashland SA, Geneva, Switzerland, and transported to Nigeria via MT American Express and MT St. Vanessa. However, investigations revealed that only 6,505,140.04 litres were actually imported using MT Evridiki and MT St. Vanessa.
In another count, the EFCC alleged that on 25 October 2011, the defendants forged a document titled “Certificate of Marine Insurance No. 0047851”, purportedly issued by Staco Insurance Plc, to facilitate the fraudulent claim.
Head, Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, on Tuesday, said Peters pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Following his plea, prosecution counsel, S.K. Atteh, requested a trial date and urged the court to remand the defendant to a correctional centre.
However, defence counsel, E.O. Isiramen, opposed the application, arguing that the defendant had been granted bail on 19 December 2012 and had fully complied with the bail conditions.
He further submitted that Peters had never breached his bail terms and urged the court to allow him to continue on the existing bail.
In his ruling, Justice Ijelu ordered that the defendant should continue on the earlier bail granted.
The court directed the sureties to appear at the next hearing to reaffirm their commitment, while defence counsel was instructed to ensure the defendant’s attendance in court.
The case was adjourned to 19, 20 and 21 May 2026 for the commencement of the trial.
