Key Points

• Court convicts PDP chair’s son in fuel subsidy fraud case.

• EFCC secures 14-year sentence after a 13-year legal battle.

• Fuel subsidy fraud conviction marks progress in anti-corruption.

A Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja has sentenced Mamman Ali, son of former PDP national chairperson Ahmadu Ali, and Christian Taylor to 14 years each for a N2.2 billion fuel subsidy fraud. Justice Mojisola Dada delivered the judgment on Tuesday, ruling that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

The court also ordered the forfeiture of all bank accounts and assets linked to the scam.

The EFCC charged the duo with 57 counts, including the fraudulent collection of government funds by falsely claiming to have imported millions of liters of petrol under the Petroleum Support Fund in 2011.

The agency further presented evidence that fake loan and shipping documents were used to justify the claims.

This fuel subsidy fraud conviction is one of the most high-profile and longest-running cases from the 2012 subsidy scandal that prompted mass protests across Nigeria.

Nigeria’s 2012 fuel subsidy scandal resurfaces in court

The sentence comes more than a decade after the nationwide #OccupyNigeria protests forced then-President Goodluck Jonathan to partly restore fuel subsidies after an attempt to remove them.

The protests highlighted widespread fraud among oil marketers and called on the government to prosecute offenders rather than punish ordinary Nigerians.

At the time, Ahmadu Ali chaired the board of the now-defunct Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Authority (PPPRA), which oversaw subsidy allocations.

The House of Representatives later recommended Ali’s prosecution for his alleged involvement, though he has not been charged.

The fuel subsidy fraud conviction follows a broader crackdown by the EFCC on subsidy-related corruption, which has seen both convictions and acquittals in several high-profile cases over the past decade.

Two still at large as judge condemns long-delayed trial

The trial against Mamman Ali and Taylor started in 2012 and initially involved 47 charges, which were later amended to 57.

The case was first handled by Judge Adeniyi Onigbanjo before it was reassigned to Judge Mojisola Dada after Onigbanjo recused himself.

EFCC prosecutors alleged that Ali and Taylor fraudulently obtained nearly N2.2 billion under false pretenses.

They claimed to have imported fuel using Nasaman Oil Services Ltd through non-existent transactions with a British Virgin Islands-based company.

Two other suspects, Olabisi Abdul-Afeez and Oluwaseun Ogunbambo, allegedly involved in the fraud, remain at large. Justice Dada has issued warrants for their arrest.

Despite delays, the successful fuel subsidy fraud conviction highlights the potential for justice even in protracted financial crime cases.