Bawa to testify in alleged N1.4bn fraud

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, will appear in court on Wednesday to testify in the ongoing trial of Abubakar Peters and his company, Nadabo Energy Limited, for an alleged N1.4bn fraud before Justice Sedoton Ogunsanya of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja.

The matter, which was to be heard on Tuesday, was adjourned till Wednesday due to the absence of the defendant’s counsel.

Recall that Bawa had earlier testified in court in 2015, long before his appointment as the EFCC chairman, giving further evidence against Nadabo Energy in the N1.4bn oil subsidy fraud case.

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Bawa had begun his examination-in-chief on June 3, 2015, The EFCC chairman had given evidence against the defendants, who pleaded “not guilty” to the alleged fraud, stating that Nababo Energy Ltd allegedly obtained the sum of N1,464,961,978.24 from the Federal Government as oil subsidy with forged documents.

“Contrary to the claim of the defendants as par Exhibit B, which they submitted to PPPRA to claim subsidy, the defendant imported only 4,850 metric tonnes of PMS as opposed to 14,000 metric tonnes that he claimed to have imported,” Bawa had said.

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During an interview with our correspondent on Tuesday, Bawa said, “We are in court; it is not easy for someone to talk about a matter that is in court. But looking at the charge; what we have is a matter that we brought here in 2015.

“It is a petroleum case, a subsidy fraud case, and from our findings, the defendant is claiming that he imported 6.8 million litres of PMS into the country, while according to our investigation, he imported 8 million litres of PMS. That is why we are in court.”

Talking about his health, he said, “You can see I’m very well. I was dehydrated, but I am back on my feet and strong, even on the day the incident happened.”