Alleged theft of $8.4m AGO by Yaya Kwande,ors : Court shifts hearing to January

IKEJA, Lagos, Nigeria – A Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos today reserved ruling on a no-case-submission filed in a multimillion dollar fraud allegation brought by Police Special Fraud Unit, through a petition triggered by Nadabo Energy Limited, against two oil marketers Yusuf Yaya Kwande, Osahon Asemota, Trafigua Behee BV, Trafigura PTE and five others.

Others been charged alongside Trafigura are: Mettle Energy and Gas Limited, Rembrandt Limited and Jill Engineering and Oil Services Limited.

According to prosecution counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacob (SAN), the prosecution cannot respond to the no-case- submission of defendants because counsel to seventh defendant failed to file his application within time.

He confirmed that counsels to all parties have filed their applications, but he could not reply to individual application as the practice is to consolidate their applications and reply to it through a prosecution application.

“My Lord, the first to third defendants filed their no -case- submission earlier. The fourth to sixth defendants filed their own on 3 November, 2021.While we are preparing our reply, the seventh defendant filed on 3 December, 2021, and served on us on 7 December, 2021.

“I want to plead with the court that we need time to respond to them. We needed some time to respond to all these applications,” he said.

Calling on prosecution to reply to his application separately, learned counsel to the first and second defendant Bode Olanipekun (SAN), told the court that he filed his application on 13 September,2021, stressing that it is ripe for response by prosecution.

“We filed ours on 13 September, 2021, on the last adjournment date, the prosecution was asking for time to react to our motion which as at that time we had been served on the prosecution for over a month. It was served on them on 25 October, 2021,” Olanipekun said.

Justice Mojisola Dada noted that since the seventh defendant just responded, the prosecution needs time to respond. The marketers alongside the companies are facing a three count criminal charge sheet  number ID/7980c/2018, bordering on stealing, conspiracy and receiving stolen property.

According to the charge the defendant is alleged to have conspired to fraudulently steal 6.4 metric tonnes of AGO worth $8.4million.

Prosecution had called about 13 witnesses, and their testimony was premised on the fact that defendants, one Asemota  who acted as agent of petitioner Nadabo Energy Limited deceived Nadabo to believe that supplied products inside the cargo was contaminated.

The contamination position of the defendant was dismissed by prosecution, stressing that  the cargo was not contaminated as been claimed by Rendbrant Limited, but a deceitful act put together to deceive Nadabo Energy Limited and Spring Bank. 

Justice Dada adjourned the matter to 4 January, for hearing of no- case- submission of applications.