Tag: Rowaye Jubril

The Spring Bank Plc on Thursday said that an oil marketer, Rowaye Jubril, followed due process in importation of fuel for which he was given N963.7 million subsidy.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Jubril is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for fuel subsidy fraud.

He is facing trial along with his company- Brila Energy Limited- before Justice Lateefat Okunnu of a Lagos High Court, Ikeja.

The EFCC claimed that the defendant did not import the 13,500 metric tonnes of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) for which he was given the subsidy.

However, the Deputy Manager, Energy Group of Spring Bank, Mr. Uchenna Adobaka, who testified before the court on Thursday, contradicted the EFCC’s claim.

Adobaka said, “The complete process of importation was complied with.

“As far as the bank is concerned, we have no evidence to show that the product was sourced locally. We (the bank) believe that it was imported.

“The witness, who was cross-examined by the Defence Counsel, Mr. Kola Kolade, said the bank financed the transaction by granting Jubril a credit facility of $11.9 million.

He said the bank appointed General Marine and Oil Services Limited to supervise the importation and discharge of the product on its behalf.

Adobaka, however, said that the company later wrote to Spring Bank admitting that it did not supervise the discharge of the product at Obat Tank Farm in Lagos.

The witness also noted that there were discrepancies in the shipping documents submitted by General Marine Oil Services Limited and their corresponding bank, Union Bank, United Kingdom, on the transaction.

“The document submitted by Union Bank U.K. showed that the mother vessel was MT Overseas Lima while our appointed agent said it was MT Gabros.

“We wrote to the supplier of the product, Napa Petroleum, who confirmed via an electronic mail that it imported the product for Brila using MT Overseas Lima,” he said.

He said all the required documents were submitted to the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) for the processing of the subsidy payment.

According to him, the subsidy was credited into Brila’s account with Spring Bank.

He said that the loan was repaid with interest.

The absence of the counsel representing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Tuesday stalled the trial of an oil marketer, Rowaye Jubril.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Jubril was charged before Justice Lateefat Okunnu, of the Lagos High Court, Ikeja, alongside his company, Brila Energy Limited for an alleged N963.7 million fuel subsidy fraud.

The EFCC alleged that the defendant had fraudulently obtained the money from the Federal Government for the purported importation of 13,500 metric tonnes of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, the judge said the EFCC counsel, Mr. Seidu Atteh, had sent a letter to the court explaining and apologising for his absence.

Jubril’s counsel, Mr. Wale Ilesanmi, also confirmed that the letter was served on the defence.

Okunnu adjourned the case to January 22 for continuation of trial.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday claimed that an oil marketer, Rowaye Jubril, did not import the petroleum products for which he received N963.7 million subsidy.

The EFCC made the allegation through one of its officers, Mrs. Tolulola Olanubi, at the resumed trial of Jubril before a Lagos High Court, Ikeja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Jubril is being prosecuted alongside his company -Brila Energy Limited.

Olanubi, who was led in evidence by the EFCC counsel, Mr. Seidu Atteh, said she was a member of the special team that investigated the alleged fraud in the Petroleum Support Fund (PSF) scheme.

She said the accused had obtained the money from the Federal Government for the purported importation of 13,500 metric tonnes of Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol).

The witness said, “The accused had claimed that there was a ship-to-ship transfer of the products between the mother vessel — MT Overseas Lima and the daughter vessel — MT Delphina.

“The purported transfer took place between January 26 and 27, 2011 at off-shore Cotonou in Benin Republic.’’

Olanubi said investigations carried out by the EFCC revealed that the transfer never took place as claimed by the marketer.

She said Lloyd Lister, an agency which monitors the movement of international vessels, also confirmed that the product was not imported.

“I accessed the Lloyd Lister’s data base to track the movement of the vessels.

“I observed that MT Overseas Lima was at Port Everglades in the United States on the day the accused claimed the ship-to-ship transfer took place.

“MT Delphina was at Tin Can Island, Lagos, on the same day that the transfer was said to have taken place at off-shore Cotonou,” the witness said.