An Ikeja Special Offences Court on Tuesday sentenced Mamman Ali and Christian Taylor to 14 years in prison each over a ₦2.2 billion oil subsidy fraud.
Ali, the son of former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman Ahmadu Ali, and Taylor were prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
They were arraigned alongside Nasaman Oil Services Ltd on an amended 57-count charge of conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretence, forgery, and using false documents. They had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
However, delivering judgment, Justice Mojisola Dada ruled that the EFCC had successfully proven its case.
She described the evidence presented by the prosecution as compelling and said it established the guilt of the defendants.
She noted that their actions not only defrauded the Nigerian government but also undermined the credibility of the country’s oil subsidy regime.
The court sentenced each of them to 14 years’ imprisonment on all counts and ordered the forfeiture of assets and accounts traced to the fraudulent proceeds.
Justice Dada also issued arrest warrants for Oluwaseun Ogunbambo and Olabisi Abdulafeez, who are still at large.
During the trial, EFCC counsel Seiduh Atteh presented nine witnesses and tendered several damning documents that were admitted into evidence.
Ali and Taylor had also testified in their own defence.
The trial initially commenced before Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo (now retired) of the Ikeja High Court before being transferred.
According to the EFCC, the offences were committed in 2011 when the convicts fraudulently claimed ₦1.9 billion from the Federal Government under the Petroleum Support Fund.
The commission said the amount was claimed for importing 20,492,982.50 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), allegedly purchased from SEATAC Petroleum Ltd in the British Virgin Islands and imported into Nigeria — a claim it later found to be false.
The EFCC further revealed that forged documents, including a falsified “Gasoline Analysis,” were used in the scheme.
