A Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja has sentenced Nasir Ali, son of former PDP National Chairman Ahmadu Ali, and a Sierra Leonean, Christian Taylor, to 14 years in prison each for their involvement in a N2.2 billion oil subsidy scam.
Justice Mojisola Dada handed down the sentence on Tuesday after finding both men and their company, Nasaman Oil Services Limited, guilty of a revised 57-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The defendants were initially arraigned in 2012 on a 49-count charge involving conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretences, forgery, and use of false documents—offences that contravened the Advance Fee Fraud Act of 2006 and the Lagos State Criminal Law of 2011.
EFCC prosecutor, Seiduh Atteh, told the court that the convicts fraudulently secured N2.2 billion from the Federal Government on September 9, 2011, under the petroleum subsidy scheme by presenting forged documents, including a falsified “Gasoline Analysis” report for the vessel MT Overseas Limar.
Justice Dada, in her ruling, stated that the prosecution’s evidence was overwhelming and concluded that the fraud not only defrauded the government but also damaged the credibility of the fuel subsidy programme.
In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered the forfeiture of assets and accounts connected to the fraudulent scheme. The judge also issued arrest warrants for two fugitives still at large—Oluwaseun Ogunbambo and Olabisi Abdul Afeez.
