Criminal Trial of Petro Union, Directors to Continue in Lagos

A Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed May 5 to continue the
criminal trial of Petro Union Oil and Gas Company Limited and its
officials.

The presiding judge of the court, Justice Mohammed Liman fixed
the date after the prosecution, the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC), presented a key witness from the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) in the case.

The four Directors, Abayomi Kukoyi (trading under the name and
style of Gladstone Kukoyi & Associates), Prince Kingsley Okpala,
Prince Chidi Okpalaeze and Prince Emmanuel Okpalaeze are facing a
13-count charge, including alleged forgery, conspiracy, obtaining
by false pretences, procuring and uttering a Barclays Bank cheque
in the sum of £2.556 billion, and fraud.

They were also alleged to have sometime in April 2007, forged a
statement of account purported to have been issued by the CBN in
the name of Goldmatic Limited, which was used to obtain judgment in
the sum of £2,159,221,313.54 billion from the Federal High
Court.

According to the EFCC prosecutor, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), the
offences are contrary to, and punishable under sections 1(2),
1(2)(a) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Laws of the Federation
of Nigeria, 1990. He also maintained that the offences are contrary
to and punishable under sections 509, 467(2)(I) and 468 of the
Criminal Code Act, Laws of the Federation if Nigeria, 2004.

In his testimony, the witness, Mr. Leke Akinkunmi, Associate
Head, International Funds at the CBN, gave evidence that the CBN,
like other apex banks globally, functions as a banker to banks and
the government, and does not hold accounts for private individuals
or companies.

Akinkunmi also reviewed the statement of account in question and
pointed out several irregularities on the document when compared to
the standard CBN-issued statement of account.

Following his testimony, the defence lawyers led by J.K Gadzama
(SAN) and Bolaji Ayorinde (SAN) could not dent the credibility of
the witness in cross examination.

During the penultimate hearing in January 2021, the anti-graft
agency had presented other key witnesses including former Minister
of Finance, Senator Nenadi Usman.

The former minister testified about how she received and
responded to a request from Petro Union for approval to bring an
investment of £2.556billion into Nigeria.

She stated that she directed the company to approach the CBN
since a new law had by then divested the Ministry of any
involvement in approving foreign investments into Nigeria.

She clarified that the response of the Ministry of Finance which
she signed was by no means an endorsement or confirmation of the
investment.

Another prosecution witness at the hearing in January, an
official of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Ojetunde Oluwaseyi,
had also presented several documents which Petro Union had relied
on to obtain the judgement in question.

He explained that he had never heard of the purported author of
most of the documents during his career in the Federal Ministry of
Finance.

He explained further that there are several incongruities in the
documents presented including the fact that several letters
containing different information on the same subject matter were
written on the same date and given the same reference number.

He explained that this is contrary to the practice in the
Federal Civil Service and he strongly suspects that the documents
were forged and created to achieve a particular clandestine
purpose.

A Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed May 5 to continue the
criminal trial of Petro Union Oil and Gas Company Limited and its
officials.

The presiding judge of the court, Justice Mohammed Liman fixed
the date after the prosecution, the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC), presented a key witness from the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) in the case.

The four Directors, Abayomi Kukoyi (trading under the name and
style of Gladstone Kukoyi & Associates), Prince Kingsley Okpala,
Prince Chidi Okpalaeze and Prince Emmanuel Okpalaeze are facing a
13-count charge, including alleged forgery, conspiracy, obtaining
by false pretences, procuring and uttering a Barclays Bank cheque
in the sum of £2.556 billion, and fraud.

They were also alleged to have sometime in April 2007, forged a
statement of account purported to have been issued by the CBN in
the name of Goldmatic Limited, which was used to obtain judgment in
the sum of £2,159,221,313.54 billion from the Federal High
Court.

According to the EFCC prosecutor, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), the
offences are contrary to, and punishable under sections 1(2),
1(2)(a) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Laws of the Federation
of Nigeria, 1990. He also maintained that the offences are contrary
to and punishable under sections 509, 467(2)(I) and 468 of the
Criminal Code Act, Laws of the Federation if Nigeria, 2004.

In his testimony, the witness, Mr. Leke Akinkunmi, Associate
Head, International Funds at the CBN, gave evidence that the CBN,
like other apex banks globally, functions as a banker to banks and
the government, and does not hold accounts for private individuals
or companies.

Akinkunmi also reviewed the statement of account in question and
pointed out several irregularities on the document when compared to
the standard CBN-issued statement of account.

Following his testimony, the defence lawyers led by J.K Gadzama
(SAN) and Bolaji Ayorinde (SAN) could not dent the credibility of
the witness in cross examination.

During the penultimate hearing in January 2021, the anti-graft
agency had presented other key witnesses including former Minister
of Finance, Senator Nenadi Usman.

The former minister testified about how she received and
responded to a request from Petro Union for approval to bring an
investment of £2.556billion into Nigeria.

She stated that she directed the company to approach the CBN
since a new law had by then divested the Ministry of any
involvement in approving foreign investments into Nigeria.

She clarified that the response of the Ministry of Finance which
she signed was by no means an endorsement or confirmation of the
investment.

Another prosecution witness at the hearing in January, an
official of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Ojetunde Oluwaseyi,
had also presented several documents which Petro Union had relied
on to obtain the judgement in question.

He explained that he had never heard of the purported author of
most of the documents during his career in the Federal Ministry of
Finance.

He explained further that there are several incongruities in the
documents presented including the fact that several letters
containing different information on the same subject matter were
written on the same date and given the same reference number.

He explained that this is contrary to the practice in the
Federal Civil Service and he strongly suspects that the documents
were forged and created to achieve a particular clandestine
purpose.