An Ikeja High Court was yesterday told that the Chief Executive Officer of Ontario Oil and Gas Limited, Walter Wagbatsoma and his co-defendants, forged some documents with which they defrauded the Federal Government.
Wagbatsoma along with Adaoha Ugo-Ngadi, Fakuade Babafemi Ebenezer, Ezekiel Olaleye Ejidele and Ontario Oil and Gas Nigeria Limited were arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a nine-count charge bordering on altering, forgery, conspiracy and obtaining property by false pretences.
Testifying at the resumed hearing of the trial yesterday, Bamon Yalma, an Investigative Police Officer, IPO, with the EFCC, told Justice Lateefat Okunnu, that Ontario Oil and Gas Limited defrauded the Federal Government by falsely claiming to have discharged 18 million litres of petrol in 2010 while investigation revealed it only delivered 12 million litres of the product.
Led in evidence by the EFCC counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, he also informed the court that Ontario Oil and Gas in 2011 discharged 10 million litres of petrol but claimed to have delivered 19 million litres.
According to him; “We discovered during our investigation that the documents submitted to us claimed the company delivered 18 million litres of petrol while the true volume of litres delivered was 12 million.”
While being asked by the EFCC counsel that which of the litres was subsidy payment made for, he said payment was made for the amount declared by the company, not the true amount delivered.
He said; “Payment of oil subsidy claims was made for the quantity declared, not for the one delivered.”
The witness while being cross-examined by the first, second and fifth defendants’ counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, said he did not personally investigate whether the quantity claimed is the quantity delivered.
He also denied investigating some documents tendered by Olanipekun, claiming that he could only speak within the confines of the investigation.
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