Mamman Ali, the son of a former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ahmadu Ali, was re-arraigned before an Ikeja Special Offences Court on Friday over alleged fraud.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) dragged Ali to court for allegedly conspiring with Christian Taylor and a company, Nasaman Oil Services Ltd. to commit an N2.2 billion oil subsidy fraud.
The duo were arraigned on an amended 49-count charge bordering on conspiracy to obtain money by false pretences, obtaining money by false pretences, forgery and use of false documents. They, however, pleaded not guilty to all the counts.
Having heard their plea, EFCC counsel, Samuel Atteh, begged the court for a trial date to enable the prosecution to call its witnesses and tender necessary documents to prove the case. Also, the defence counsel, Kolade Obafemi, prayed the court to allow the defendants to continue on bail earlier granted them.
“We crave your lordship’s indulgence that the bail granted to the defendants be allowed to continue,” he said.
On his part, the EFCC counsel, Atteh submitted that the most paramount for the prosecution was the defendants’ attendance in court to face trial.
“Our interest is that the defendants attend trial; so, we leave the decision about bail to the discretion of this honourable court,” Atteh said.
Naija News learnt that the defence counsel delayed in presenting the defendants’ bail papers to the court. However, the preceding judge consequently ordered that the defendants should be remanded at the EFCC custody pending the presentation of the bail papers and a formal application for their bail.
Dada adjourned the case until May 30 for trial. The defendants were initially arraigned before Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo. Subsequently, Onigbanjo withdrew from the case on health grounds, prompting the reassignment of the case to Dada.
The EFCC, in one of the counts, alleged that the defendants, with intent to defraud, conspired to obtain N750 million from the Federal Government by falsely representing subsidy accruing to Nasaman Oil Services Ltd. under the Petroleum Support Fund for importation of 10,031,986 litres of Premium Motor Spirit which Nasaman Oil Services Ltd. purported to have purchased from SEATAC Petroleum Ltd. of British Virgin Islands and imported into Nigeria through MT Liquid Fortune Ltd.
The commission said that the defendants knew that the representation was false.
According to the commission, the defendants committed the offences with one Oluwaseun Ogunbambo and one Olabisi Abdul-Afeez still at large, on Nov. 9 , 2011, in Ikeja.
The alleged offences contravene Sections 1(3), 8 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act of 2006, and Sections 363 (3)(1) and 264 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
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