'NOGASA Chairman Signatory To Company Account Used For Alleged N43.5million Fraud' - EFCC

The trial of the Chairman, Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria (NOGASA), Philips Fatuyi, charged with N43.5million fraud, today continued before Justice Mojisola Dada of an Ikeja Special Offences Court, with a Compliance Officer with Zenith Bank, Mr. Kenneth Ikeagwu, testifying against him.

It would be recalled that Fatiyi is facing trial alongside his company, Oceanview Oil and Gas Limited, on a two-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence before the judge.

While being led in evidence by the lawyer to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Spife Owede, the witness told the court that he received a request from the anti-graft agency in November 2016 to provide it with the account statement of the defendant’s company.

According to him, "We made the statement of account available to the Commission, and the certificate of identification was signed by my colleague, Mr. Daniel Udom,”

The Compliance Officer further informed the judge that the defendant was the sole signatory to the account and there was an inflow and outflow of funds sometime on September 28, 2016.

He said, "There was an inflow of N18 million, N25 million, and N550,000, which were paid in tranches.”

Under cross-examination by the defence lawyer, Mr. Olarenwaju Ajanaku, the Zenith Bank official who posited that he was not the account officer of the defendant, confirmed before the court that he did not know what the inflows were meant for and that he did not know the two people who made the payment to the defendant’s company account.

The matter has been adjourned until March 30, 2023, for the continuation of the trial.

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