JUSTICE Adebukola Banjoko of a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), sitting at Gudu, Abuja, on Friday, sentenced an oil marketer, Jubril Rowaye, to 10 years imprisonment for defrauding the Federal Government of about N1.05billion under the petroleum subsidy scheme.
Rowaye had, on March 16, 2017, been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by Justice Lateefa Okunnu of a Lagos High Court of a fuel subsidy scam of N963.7million.
In her judgment, Justice Banjoko convicted Rowaye alongside his company, Brilla Energy Limited and another firm, Alminnur Resources Limited, to which the permit to import 10,000metric tonnes of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) into Nigeria was issued in 2011.
The convicts were said to have, at various times, forged different bills of landing for PMS not supplied in a bid to claim the subsidy on fuel.
Rowaye, who was dragged before the court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for offence a bordering conspiracy and fraud charged under the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006, was convicted on 14 of the 17 counts preferred against him.
He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on each of the counts without any option of fine. The sentence is, however, going to run concurrently.
He was also sentenced him to seven years each for the other 12 counts of conspiracy, forgery of documents and using the documents as genuine to facilitate the act of obtaining the total sum of N1.05 billion from the Federal Government under the fuel subsidy by false pretence.
Justice Bonjoko, however ordered that the seven years imprisonment on each of the 12 counts, totalling 84 years jail term, had to run consecutively, giving him an option of fine of N5 million on each of the counts, totaling N60 million.
The judge also ordered for restitution and directed the convicts to refund to the Federal Government the equivalent of losses it suffered in the transaction.