Court Convicts Oil Thief In Absentia, Forfeits Vessels To FG
Justice Rilwan Aikawa of a Federal High Court, Lagos, on Wednesday, convicted an oil thief, Abednego Ogede in absentia, for unlawfully engaging in 145,000 metric tonnes of Automated Gasoline Oil (AGO) popularly called diesel without authorisation.
The judge also ordered that a vessel, MV Shirley, used in carrying out the unlawful and illegal act, be forfeited to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and that a company, Sagwe International Limited, owned by the runaway convict, pay the sum of N100 million to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Justice Aikawa gave the orders while delivering judgment in a criminal charge filed against the Vessel, the company and the convict, Ogede by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
EFCC had arraigned the vessel, MV Shirley, the Company, Sagwe International Limited and the convict, Abednego Ogede, before the court sometimes in 2017, on a four count charge of conspiracy and unlawful and illegal dealing in 450, 000 metric tonnes of petroleum product.
The EFCC through its prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo, had told the court that the trio had committed the offences on April 19, 2017, in Lagos.
Oyedepo had told the court that the committed by the convict contravened Sections 19(6) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap M17, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and punishable under Section 17 of the same Act.
He had also told the court that the offences contravened Section 4 of the Petroleum Act, Cap P10, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
The defendants had pleaded not guilty to the charges, and they were granted bail in the sum of N10 million with two sureties in like sum.
During the pendency of the charge, the prosecution had called two witnesses, an operative of the agency and an official of Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), who gave their evidence on how the convict was arrested, as well tendered documentary evidence, which were admitted by the court.
Also, the fugitive convict, Ogede, was the only one that gave evidence in defence of the charges leveled against him, the comply and the vessel.
Delivering judgment on the charge on Wednesday, Justice Aikawa held that: “the prosecution has discharged the burden of prove the charge against the defendants through the testimonies of its two witnesses.
“It is obvious that they defendants did not license to deal in petroleum product.
“Its my view that the prosecution proved its case in all charges beyond all doubt. I therefore, find the first, second and third defendants guilty of count one, count two, count three and count four. This is my judgment”.
Following the judge’s guilty pronouncement on all the defendants, the prosecutor, Oyedepo urged the court to order forfeiture of the vessel and its content to the Federal Government of Nigeria, as empowered by the Laws of the federation
