From Sola Ojo, Abuja
Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday, May 27, convicted and sentenced oil marketers Mamman Nasir Ali and Christian Taylor to 14 years imprisonment each for a N2.2 billion oil subsidy fraud.
They were re-arraigned alongside Nasaman Oil Services Limited on an amended 57-count charge on March 26, 2025, following new findings, including forged documents like a falsified “Gasoline Analysis” report for MT Overseas Limar, purportedly issued by Saybolt Concremat.
The defendants were initially arraigned in 2012 on a 49-count charge for conspiracy to obtain money by false pretence, forgery, and use of false documents, violating the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011.
One count stated: “Nasaman Oil Services Ltd, Mamman Nasir Ali, Christian Taylor, Oluwaseun Ogunbambo (now at large) and Olabisi Abdul-Afeez (still at large), on or about the 9th day of November 2011 at Lagos, within the Ikeja Judicial Division, with intent to defraud, conspired to obtain the sum of N749,991,273.36 from the Federal Government of Nigeria by falsely claiming that the sum represented subsidy accruing to Nasaman Oil Services Ltd under the Petroleum Support Fund for the importation of 10,031,986 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), which Nasaman Oil Services Ltd purported to have purchased from SEATAC Petroleum Ltd of British Virgin Islands and imported into Nigeria through MT Liquid Fortune Ltd Ex MT Overseas Lima, which representation you knew to be false.
Another count read: “Nasaman Oil Services Ltd, Mamman Nasir Ali, Christian Taylor, Oluwaseun Ogunbambo (now at large) and Olabisi Abdul-Afeez (still at large), on or about the 11th day of April 2011 at Lagos, within the Ikeja Judicial Division, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of N1,480,074,125.61 from the Federal Government of Nigeria by claiming that the sum represented subsidy accruing to Nasaman Oil Services Ltd under the Petroleum Support Fund for the importation of 20,492,982.50 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), which Nasaman Oil Services Ltd purported to have purchased from SEATAC Petroleum Ltd of British Virgin Islands and imported into Nigeria through MT Liquid Fortune Ex Mt. Hellenic Blue and Ex MT. Milleura, which representation you knew to be false.”
They pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The case, initially before Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo of the Lagos State High Court, was reassigned to Justice Dada after Onigbanjo’s withdrawal on health grounds.
Prosecution counsel Seiduh Atteh presented witnesses, including EFCC investigator Tolulola Tola-Ukabam, who confirmed false vessel locations using Lloyd’s List Intelligence, and documents admitted as evidence.
Justice Dada found the evidence compelling, stating the defendants’ actions defrauded the government and undermined Nigeria’s oil subsidy programme. She sentenced Ali and Taylor to 14 years each, ordered forfeiture of assets and accounts linked to the fraud, and issued arrest warrants for Oluwaseun Ogunbambo and Olabisi Abdul-Afeez, who remain at large.
Mamman Nasir Ali is the son of former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman Ahmadu Ali.