Nigerian Court lifts order on Capital Oil

Nearly a month after a Federal High Court made an order freezing his accounts and granting control of his company’s assets and facilities to Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON, reprieve came to embattled Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah, owner of Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited, as the court on Wednesday discharged the order it granted freezing the properties of the company.

The court had last month granted the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON, immediate possession of properties belonging to the company and its owner, Ifeanyi Ubah.

The order freezing the company’s properties was made under Sections 49 and 50 of Amcon’s Act.

While discharging the order, Justice Abdul Kafarati held that AMCON did not have to destroy or kill a going concern just because it is owing it some money.

He upheld the argument of Mr. Ifeanyi Uba’s lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun, a senior advocate of Nigeria, to the effect that the duty of AMCON was to make sure that debtors pay their debt and not to push them out of business.

The judge also faulted the method adopted by AMCON in securing the exparte order freezing the company’s accounts. Although the judge could not find any section of the AMCON Act he could rely on to vacate the order, he chose to rely on the inherent jurisdiction of the court and Section 6 (6) of the Constitution.

Justice Kafarati also stated that it was not in doubt that the company’s business was a going concern when the order was made. He also said that AMCON did not gain anything from the order he granted them since about a month ago.

He noted that since AMCON could not dispose the properties while the case was in court, that it is prudent to allow the Mr. Ubah to continue to operate his business and organise how to repay the debt. He therefore directed AMCON to allow Capital Oil continue with its business while the company negotiates how to pay the debt.

“To stop the company from operating might have adverse effect on the economy of the country, parties should sit down and agree on how the debt would be repaid instead of shutting down the business”

The court had earlier varied the order following an application by the company for an order to allow it pay its workers’ salaries.

Ubah and Capital Oil are allegedly indebted to AMCON to the tune of N48.014 billion and were among the 113 companies and 419 directors/shareholders that the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, listed as AMCON’s debtors.

The banks have since been barred from extending further credit to the debtor companies and their directors until they repay their loans.

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Closure of Capital Oil may aggravate fuel scarcity —Ubah •Alleges plan to take over his business

THE Chairman and Chief Executive, Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited, Chief Ifeanyi Ubah, has said a court order for the forfeiture of his company’s facilty would aggravate the already worsening fuel supply and distribution across the country.

He also alleged that the court order was part of a grand plan to take over his business, which he said, accounted for 35 per cent of supply and distribution of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Ubah made this known in a release made available to Sunday Tribune, adding that he had already complied with the court order.

Justice A. Abdu-Kafarati of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had granted an ex-parte order for the temporary forfeiture of the company’s assets, especially its jetties and depots located at Apapa, Lagos with immediate effect.

Ubah had been engaged in a three-pronged battle with Coscharis, Access Bank and AMCON over fuel subsidy issue.

He said his company, in compliance with the court order, had, since Friday, stopped operations with a total load-out of 224 trucks of PMS (equivalent of 8,151,270 litres) belonging to NNPC.

He said that would be the last operation till further notice, adding; “We hope this will not aggravate the already worsening fuel supply and distribution being experienced in the country.”

He also alleged that the findings by the Aig-Imoukhuede-led committee on subsidy was aimed at killing his business interest.

“We had cried out that the unsubstantiated findings by the Aig-Imoukhuede Committee were strangulating our business by denying us access to payments from the Federal Goverment, credit, business partners, goodwill as well as making us look like criminals and people without integrity.

“Before the court order, our operations had been greatly threatened. Now the open-secret plan to take over our business has materialised.

“This is no doubt a clear case of victimisation. Nigerians will unfortunately be worse for it. If only they had put the nation’s interest first.

“That a company like ours, which accounts for about 35 per cent of daily petroleum products distribution in Nigeria, can be the subject of such an application and court order is baffling.

“The government has refused to pay us. It would appear that those who want to take over our business are succeeding with the aid of their friends in government.

“They came up with subsidy we defended it and they could not refute our defense. They came up with Access Bank and Coscharis, we went to court and they refused to appear. Rather, they went to a United Kingdom (UK) court. Now they are coming with AMCON.

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Capital Oil boss, four others still unable to get bail

 A Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday fixed Oct. 18 to hear a bail application filed by the Managing Director of Capital Oil and Gas, Ifeanyi Uba, facing trial over alleged N43.29 billion fuel subsidy fraud.

Charged with Uba in the suit by the Police Special Fraud Unit (SFU) at the Tinubu Magistrates’ Court in Lagos are Nsika Usoro, Godfrey Okorie, Chibuzor Ogbuokiri, and Joseph Orji– all employees of the company.

The SFU accused the men of economic sabotage, obtaining money by false pretences,money laundering, forgery.  and stealing of N43.291 billion, property of the Federal Government,

The defendants, who appeared before Magistrate Martins Owumi, were remanded in the SFU custody for 14 days.

Justice Okon Abang adjourned the case till Oct. 17 for the SFU to respond in writing to the motion before the court.The court, while adjourning the case, said that this would be the last adjournment in the bail application.

Mr Aderemi Adekile, counsel to the respondents, had appealed for another adjournment  to enable him respond to the motion on notice.According to him, there had been no time to respond to the converted motion as directed by the court, due to the short time span.

“It is in the interest of justice for this weighty application to be adjourned, so as to enable the prosecution put something on the other side of the scale of justice,” he said.Counsel to the applicant, Mr Joseph Nwobike (SAN), opposed the application, arguing that parties were bound by the record of the court in which the order for hearing was made.

Nwobike said that it was not fair to extend time in favour of the respondents, in a matter of fundamental human right enforcement which the law stipulates should be treated with urgency.

“The only conclusion to be drawn from my learned friend’s application for extension is that he has failed to obey the order of court for the purpose of filing his response.“The application is unmeritorious and unjustifiable.

“If my lord grants this application for adjournment, then the unlawful detention of the applicants would have gained judicial certification and support,” Nwobike argued.Citing Order 4 Rule 4 of the Fundamental Human Right Enforcement Procedure Rules, he urged the court to dismiss the application and hear the motion on notice.

In his ruling, Abang pointed out that the court was a temple of justice and it behoves on the respondent, having been served, to respond as ordered by the court.“It is at the discretion of the court whether or not to adjourn, but in doing this, the court is enjoined to take into consideration the entire circumstances of the case.

“Justice delayed is justice denied, but also justice rushed, is justice quashed, I so hold” Abang ruled. (NAN)

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Court remands Capital Oil boss over N43billion subsidy fraud

 A Tinubu Magistrate Court in Lagos Thursday ordered that the Chief Executive Officer of Capital Oil Limited, Chief Ifeanyi Ifeanyi Ubah be remanded in a Lagos  prison for 14days over N43.291billion subsidy fraud.

Also to be  remanded are the company's Head of Trading, Nsikan Usoro; Depot Manager, Godfrey Okorie; General Manager, Operations, Chibuzor Ogbuokiri and Executive Director, Operations of Capital Oil and Gas Limited, Orji Joseph Anayo.

Presiding Magistrate, Martins Owunmi ruled that the accused be remanded to enable them file their application properly.

He turned down the oral applications for bail made by their counsel,Joseph Nwobike (SAN) on the ground that the money involved is much.

"In view of the section 264(1) of the administration of criminal justice and considering the huge money involved,the court will not have jurisdiction to entertain the matter.But if the still want to argue their case for bail, they should do so by written application.I hereby rule that they should be remanded in prison for 14 days".

The Special Fraud Unit of the Nigerian Police Force, Ikoyi, Lagos, in their request for remand brought in pursuant to section 264 Administration of Criminal Justice.

Law,2011 said the officials of Capital Oil and Gas Limited are reasonably suspected to have committed the offences of economic sabotage,obtaining money by false pretences,stealing of N43.291billion,property of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,money laundering and forgery within the Lagos Magisterial District in the
year,2011.

In its 11-grounds for the remand of the accused,the Special Fraud Unit said the suspects defrauded the Federal government of the sum of N43.291billion by falsely
pretending that their company had imported and sold 538,74million litres of Premium Motors Spirit during the 2011 fiscal year through 26t transactions.

It said the fraud was discovered by the Presidential Committee on the Verification and Reconciliation of Fuel Subsidy Payments Auditors and reported to the Special
Fraud Unit, Ikoyi,Lagos for investigation.

It also said most of the evidence and exhibits of the criminal acts will be destroyed by the suspects,if released from custody at this stage of the investigation.

It further said it is in the national interest that the suspects are in custody to prevent them from tampering and preventing the gathering of evidence and exhibits in
question.

According to the affidavit in support of application for the remand, deposed by CSP Francis Idu, the 26 importation and sales transaction claimed by the company were never done but the oil company fraudulently obtained N43.291billion from the Federal government.

He said the fraud was suspected when the Presidential Committee on Verification and Reconciliation of Fuel Subsidy Payment engaged auditors to conduct field examination of each oil marketing and trading company.

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Fuel scam: Capital Oil boss, Ifeanyi Uba arrested

 The Special Fraud Unit, Milverton Ikoyi, has arrested  the Managing Director of Capital Oil & Gas Industries Ltd , Mr Ifeanyi Uba, over   alleged involvement of his companies in the fuel subsidy scam.

 

At press time, the  oil magnate who arrived the Unit  in the company of his lawyers  was still being interrogated.His company was indicted by Mr Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede-led 15-man presidential panel constituted by President Goodluck Jonathan to re-investigate the findings of the report of an earlier investigation panel set up by the Ministry of Finance on fuel subsidy payments valued at over N2 trillion.

But  the management of Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited  denied  that its managing director was arrested, stating that Uba voluntarily visited the Unit on a routine verification exercise on subsidy claim and returned to the office.

However, when we spoke with SFU’s Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Insitelu, at about 6.30p.m, she simply stated that Uba was still being interrogated over the oil subsidy scam. She could, however, not give detail on why it was taking the Unit long to release him.

At about 7.25pm, we reliably gathered that the oil magnate was still being quizzed by a seven-man detective team. It was also gathered that three management staff of his company were  undergoing interrogation in another room in the anti-fraud unit.

Clad in a blue caftan with a pair of black shoes, Uba, who was in the company of his lawyer, reportedly responded to some of the questions posed to him.It could, however, not be ascertained whether he would be allowed to go home, as sources at  the Unit said the interrogation might take long.

According to sources at the unit, “we are not done with the interrogation.  He may or may not go home today.”

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