THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, will appear in court today, Wednesday, to testify in the ongoing trial of Nadabo Energy Limited, and one Abubakar Peters for an alleged N1.4b fraud.
The trial is to be heard by Justice Sedoton Ogunsanya of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja.
The matter was to be heard on Tuesday, but was adjourned till Wednesday as the defendant’s counsel was absent.
It can be recalled 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 N1.4b oil subsidy fraud case.
Bawa had begun his examination-in-chief on June 3, 2015, and had given evidence against the defendants, who pleaded “not guilty” to the alleged fraud, stating that Nadabo 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.
During an interview with reporters 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.”
When asked about his health, Bawa 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.”
