For engaging in crude oil fraud, an oil magnate alongside two others have been remanded in prison custody.
A Suspect
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission officials in Port-Harcourt on Tuesday, February 12, 2019 arraigned the trio of Martins Derisoma Ogbanga, Busari Adeyemi, Uwem Sunday Assan and a company: Dempo Resources Ltd., before Justice I.M Sani of the Federal High Court, sitting in Port-Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
They were arraigned on a 19-count charge bordering on conspiracy and obtaining money by false pretences to the tune of N50million, contrary to Section 8 (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.
Ogbanga and others got into trouble when they allegedly approached their victim with an offer to supply 1.8million barrels of crude oil to him, at the cost of N50million.
To convince the victim on the genuineness of the offer, the suspects allegedly presented several documents purportedly from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC. These include: Certificate of Origin, Certificate of Quality and Authority To Sell Cargo On Board MT Cosmic Jewel. Others include: Clearance for Inspection/Super Cargo On Board MT Maritime Jewel, Documentation Receipt, Cargo Manifest and Master's Receipt For Samples.
Convinced by the forged documents, the victim allegedly raised the money for the supply of the crude oil through a bank loan, only to discover that the offer was a scam. All the three suspects pleaded "not guilty" to the 19-count charges when they were read to them.