Alleged N135bn Fraud: Ifeanyi Ubah’s absence in court stalls arraignment

The arraignment of politician and businessman, Ifeanyi Ubah, on Wednesday could not go on as planned due to his absence in court.

Mr Ubah, who is currently a senator, was to be arraigned before Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos. The senator and his company, Capital Oil and Gas Limited, are facing a four-count charge of fraud and misrepresentation of facts.

When the court opened for hearings on Wednesday, lawyer to the federal government, Kunle Adegoke, informed the court of a pending four-count charge against the defendants and urged the court to accept the same for the purposes of a plea.

Mr Ubah’s lawyer, Olisa Agbakoba, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, however, informed the court that his client had not been served with the charge.

Mr Agbakoba also told the court that a mediation move was ongoing to resolve the case out court since ”it is all about money.”

The Counsel to the second defendant, Capital Oil and Gas Limited, Ajibola Oluyede, however, told the court his client had been served and ” that is why we have filed a notice of preliminary objections challenging the competency of this charge.”

Responding to the statement, the prosecuting counsel, Mr Adegoke, told the court that if the defendant was trying to avoid court proceedings, he would not hesitate to ask for an arrest warrant to enable the prosecution produce him in court.

Ruling on the issues raised, Mr Oweibo said that in as much as the prosecution had failed to produce the defendant in court on Wednesday, the case stood adjourned.

“Accordingly, this case is adjourned to 13th of February, 2020.”

The full charge reads:

COUNT 1

That you, Ifeanyi Patrick Ubah, and Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited, sometimes between 2012 and 2018, conspired together in making false claims in relation to the actual values of certain assets-transferred to Asset Management Corporation _of Nigeria (AMCON) under the Consent Judgment delivered in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/714/2012 on the 1St day of July, 2013 in partial payment of the Indebtedness of Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited with a view to defeating the realisation of the said judgment debt of Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited to AMCON then standing In the sum of 135 Billion Naira contrary to Section 54(1)(a) and (d) of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria Act, 2010 (as amended).

COUNT 2

That you, Ifeanyi Patrick Ubah, and Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited, sometimes between 2012 and 2018, made false claims in relation to the actual values of certain assets transferred to AMCON under the Consent Judgment delivered in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/714/2012 on the 1St day of July, 2013 and which assets were transferred in partial payment of the butstanding indebtedness of Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited to AMCON with a view to defeating the realisation of the judgment debt ‘of Capital Oil and Gas Industries lelted to AMCON then standing in the sum of 135 Billion Naira contrary to Section S4(1)(a) of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria Act, 2010 (as amended).

COUNT 3

That you, Ifeanyl Patrick Ubah, and Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited, sometimes between 2012 and 2018 in Nigeria and within the jurisdiction of this honourable Court, being guarantor and debtor respectively, negligently, wilfully or recklessly made a statement or gave information knowing it to be false in relation to the actual values of the assets transferred to AMCON under the Consent Judgment delivered in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/714/2012 on the 1St day of July, 2013 in partial satisfaction of the outstanding loan of N135 Billion Naira owed to AMCON contrary to Section 54(2) of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria Act, 2010 (as amended).

COUNT 4

That you, Ifeanyi Patrick Ubah, and Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited, sometimes between 2012 and 2018 in Nigeria and within the jurisdiction of this honoUrable Court, did obstruCt the implementation of the provisions of the AMCON Act vis-é-vis the realisation of part of your outstanding debt of N135 Billion Naira _by frustrating the sale of the landed property at Banana Island to Dayspring Development Company Limited, which property you both transferred to AMCON by virtue of the Consent Judgement tieiivered by this honourable Court on the 1St day of July, 2013 in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/714/2012 and which act is contrary to §ection 54(5) of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria Act, 2010 (as amended).