Subsidy Scam: Uche Ogah refunds N1.2b, likely to be arrested this week

Embattled oil marketer and president of Master Energy Limited, Mr Uche Ogah, has refunded N1.2b to the federal government through the Economic and financial crime commission (EFCC) out of the total of N5.5b he illegally siphoned from the NNPC.

Mr Ogah who is also facing criminal charges of fraud and forgery in Lagos is said to be desperately seeking to compromise Supreme Court judges to rule in his favor in the Abia Governor tax appeal he filed in order to acquire immunity from prosecution as the EFCC has uncovered more sleaze involving him and his company Master Energy.

In a 2012 investigative report by Premium Times highlighting a massive N382b subsidy fraud the report named Master Energy among companies duping Nigerians. Part of the report published on the 16th of August 2016 reads:

The scale is huge; the method daring and unprecedented. The plot seems like one in a James Bond movie as unscrupulous Nigerian businessmen scripted an unbelievable heist.

It was a grand deceit, never seen in Nigeria’s history. To benefit from the 2011 fuel subsidy largesse, the oil companies “manufactured” fictional oil ships (vessels) they claimed traversed seas and oceans of the world carrying imaginary petrol, with Nigeria the final destination of the product, the Technical Committee set up by the Federal Government discovered.

For supplying this phantom product to Nigeria, the seven companies involved pocketed a princely N13 billion naira from the 2011 fuel subsidy payments, the committee’s report, secured by PREMIUM TIMES, stated.

Some other companies, not wanting to create fictional vessels, decided to space- travel existing ones; such that real vessels, which were definitely in countries like China and UAE, discharged petrol into storage depots in Nigeria at the exact time they were in those other countries. The 11 companies involved in this category of fraud pocketed N21 billion from the 2011 subsidy payments, the report stated.

On Wednesday, October 19, 2011, a vessel, MT Zhen Star, purportedly arrived in Nigerian waters. The 58,000 metric tonnes of petrol contained in the vessel was owned by two companies: Masters Energy Oil and Gas Limited; and Caades Oil and Gas Limited.

In the presence of PPPRA officials, DPR officers, naval officers, customs, and so on, Masters discharged 28,000 metric tonnes from the vessel, while Caades discharged 10, 000 metric tonnes of petrol. While the former collected N2.9 billion as subsidy for this import, the latter got N1 billion.

The irony however is that the vessel, MT Zhen Star, does not exist and no fuel was imported. The two companies, with the complicity of the stated public officials, successfully duped Nigeria of N3.9 billion.

While commenting on this fraudulent transaction, the technical committee, headed by Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, stated that “the subsidy on this transaction must have been wrongly paid since MT Zhen which was supposedly used could neither be located on the Lloyds List intelligence nor anywhere on the West African Coast.”

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/business/96716-exclusive-nigerias-biggest-oil-fraudsters-the-worst-subsidy-scam-ever.html

It will be recalled that a minister of the Redeemed Christian Church, Pastor Bridget Adeosun, recently took Uche Ogah, Master Energy and officials of UBA Plc to court over the fraudulent forgery of her signature in an MOU and the criminal conversion of her petroleum product supply contract using a fraudulent account opened in the name of her company at UBA by Mr Ogah and his accomplices.

Abia Pilot investigation indicate that Mr Uche Ogah recently unsuccessfully attempted to settle the fraud matter out of court by offering Mrs Adeoosun two hundred million Naira (N200,000,000.00) to withdraw the matter. Unknown to him, the case file has already been handed over to EFCC to pave way for his prosecution at a high court.

Observers believe that Mr Ogah's desperate efforts at bribing the judges of the Supreme Court to rule in his favor is not unconnected to various scams perpetuated by him and his company Master Energy, which is also a front for a former secretary to the government of the federation. With a financial war chest of $4m already deployed to compromise Supreme Court judges, it is believed that the only way Mr Uche Ogah will escape jail is by acquiring immunity as a governor. Previously, he was shielded from prosecution by the former SGF who allegedly received 40% of every subsidy payment to Master Energy in addition to the money he made from his other deals already being investigated by the EFCC. The position of Abia Governor will also provide Mr Ogah the needed financial rehabilitation to refund the remaining N4.31b and escape trial for the forgery and fraud case in Lagos.

The current investigation of the subsidy loot was triggered by a petition to EFCC by B. I. Murtala & Co., had petitioned the EFCC, accusing top NNPC and PPMC officials of “abuse of office, economic sabotage, illegal diversion of petroleum products, illicit enrichment and corruption as well as criminal conspiracy”

Full details of the recoveries made so far are available through http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/210292-fuel-sales-nnpc-tinubu-adenuga-otedola-others-owe-nigerian-govt-n86-4-billion.html

Chai!

...

So what shall we do

money dey dis country sha

Is another winch hunt now


Shebi Buhari is wicked and he caused recession


Yeye dey smell

"With a financial war chest of $4m already deployed to compromise Supreme Court judges, it is believed that the only way Mr Uche Ogah will escape jail is by acquiring immunity as a governor.". .I guess this is the fellow that wants to rule Abia State from the back door with the connivance of Justice Okon Abang?No wonder the desperation. This still confirms that the dishonorable Justice Abang was playing dirty all along.Oh Nigeria-what aillieth thee?

Ehh ABIA PILOT news papers Dearis god o

agwom:
Chai!

.
See the thief wey won become governor

they should hang him

Only bigots filled with hatred and those genuinely naive or uninformed don't know the main reason we are where we are today.

[b][/b]heroes!!!!

HtwoOw:
Is another winch hunt now


Shebi Buhari is wicked and he caused recession


Yeye dey smell

Yes he did! Only zombies are short on memory and revisionists. They fought the govt to retain subsidy which led to a waste of over 9trn now they are deceiving their gullible fans!

Ok

Scammers ontop subsidy using dier oil and gas company.na wa o

SUBSIDY SCAM

It's lp again

He must refund everything to the government. It is nigeria's money.

Heartless bunch of Bastards

see the criminal that wants to be governor by all means. EFCC FOOD IS READY

PassingShot:
Only bigots filled with hatred and those genuinely naive or uninformed don't know the main reason we are where we are today.

And what exactly has blaming everyone else instead of taking meaningful actions done for us all?

Hmmm

You can see why they will always want to fight for increased pump price all the time because no more free money

Paperwhite:
"With a financial war chest of $4m already deployed to compromise Supreme Court judges, it is believed that the only way Mr Uche Ogah will escape jail is by acquiring immunity as a governor.". .I guess this is the fellow that wants to rule Abia State from the back door with the connivance of Justice Okon Abang?No wonder the desperation. This still confirms that the dishonorable Justice Abang was playing dirty all along.Oh Nigeria-what aillieth thee?

He is still better than the present governor...in the city of blind men one eyed is the king..

On Wednesday, October 19, 2011, a vessel, MT Zhen Star, purportedly arrived in Nigerian waters. The 58,000 metric tonnes of petrol contained in the vessel was owned by two companies: Masters Energy Oil and Gas Limited; and Caades Oil and Gas Limited.

In the presence of PPPRA officials, DPR officers, naval officers, customs, and so on, Masters discharged 28,000 metric tonnes from the vessel, while Caades discharged 10, 000 metric tonnes of petrol. While the former collected N2.9 billion as subsidy for this import, the latter got N1 billion.

The irony however is that the vessel, MT Zhen Star, does not exist and no fuel was imported. The two companies, with the complicity of the stated public officials, successfully duped Nigeria of N3.9 billion.

This is grand.

Judiciary should help the govt to fight corruption by jailing people like this criminal!

After Buhari failed to install him as Abia governor with a deal that he will defect to APC??