Convicted
fuel subsidy fraudsters Mrs. Ada Ugo-Ngadi, Managing Director of Ontario Oil
and Gas Limited and Walter Wagbatsoma, the company’s chairman, were today sentenced
to 10 years imprisonment by Justice Lateefa Okunnu of the Lagos High
Court for defrauding the Federal Government of N754 million in oil subsidy
claims.
The
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned the convicts
before the court on August 1, 2013 alongside Mr. Babafemi Fakuade, an official
of the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) on charges of forgery,
conspiracy and altering of document to commit fuel subsidy fraud. The
judge however, found Fakuade not guilty and acquitted him on the charges.
The
court had in its ruling of January 13 found the duo of Wagbatsoma and Ugo -
Ngadi guilty of all charges and convicted them but could not pass sentence on
them due to the dramatic occurrence when one of the convicts (Ugo- Ngadi) collapsed
in court and was subsequently hospitalized.
Justice
Okunnu in her judgment today sentenced Wagbatsoma and Ugo-Ngadi to a minimum of
ten years in prison for the six count charge proffered against them by the
EFCC.
.
"For
each of the counts of conspiracy to obtain money by false pretences the
defendants are sentenced to ten years in prison.
"For
the count of conspiracy to commit forgery, the defendants are sentenced to
seven years in prison
"For
the of offence of forgery, the defendants are sentenced to eight years in
prison," Okunnu said.
The
Judge noted that the sentence passed was a total of 69 years for each of the
convicts but the sentence was to run concurrently.
In
the course of pronouncing judgment on Ontario Oil and Gas Limited, Justice
Okunnu gave an order of restitution for Ontario Oil and Gas Limited to return
N754million to the Federal Government.
The
conviction and sentencing is the first of the many cases of oil subsidy fraud
currently under prosecution in various courts.
As the
proceeding ended, prison warders, lawyers of the convicts and their family members
molested the cameraman of EFCC for taking pictures of the convicts.
Wilson Uwujaren
Head Media &
Publicity
26th
January, 2017
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