Court Acquits Jide Omokore of 1.6bn Fraud
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has discharged and acquitted Jide Omokore, chairman of Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Limited who was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 15-count charge of fraud allegations.
He was alleged to have fraudulently diverted $1.6bn alleged to be part of proceeds of sales of petroleum products belonging to the federal government.
Jide Omokere who is the first defendant and his co-defendants were initially arraigned on July 4, 2016.
Following more findings, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission re-arraigned the defendants on November 21, 2016, before Justice Nnamdi Dimgba alongside two of Omokore’s companies, Atlantic Energy Brass Development Ltd and Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Ltd.
Part of the offences was said to be contrary to section 1 (1) (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act and punishment under section 1(3) of the same Act.
Delivering judgment in the suit on Tuesday, Nnamdi Dimgba, the presiding judge, held that the EFCC failed to prove its case against the first to third defendants.
On the first three counts, the anti-graft commission had alleged that the first three defendants made false representations in other to get into an agreement to carry out a project for Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC).
However, the judge held that the EFCC failed to prove that the three defendants falsely represented themselves as possessing the required technical and financial competence to carry out the project.
Andrew Yakubu former group managing director of the NNPC in his testimony stated that the defendants were awarded the project based on their previously recorded “remarkable success and value addition” while working with the NNPC.
On the counts relating to “fraudulent intent,” the judge held that “the 1st-3rd defendants do not strike me as persons with fraudulent intent.
The court further held that “The sale of crude oil by the 1st-3rd defendants was done legally as contained in the agreement,” and “They did not sell any crude that was not allocated by lawful authority.”
It was the opinion of the court that charges bordering on procurement fraud were also not proven by the prosecution.
The fourth and fifth defendants Victor Briggs and Abiye Membere were convicted for “unethically collecting car gifts as public officials” which contravenes section 98 of the Criminal Code Act.
The judge added that all public officials must maintain an official relationship with private individuals, especially those that have business relations with their departments or agencies.
The court ordered that the fourth and fifth defendants should be kept in the custody of the EFCC pending their sentencing on Wednesday.
