The Federal Government has called on Federal High Court, sitting in Lagos, to dismiss the ‘no-case application filed by Petro Union and three of its directors, alongside a consultant, who is currently standing trial for alleged £2.6 billion fraud.
The trial judge in the matter is Justice Mohammed Liman.
Counsel to the Federal Government, Mr Rotimi Jacobs, a Senior Advocate of. Nigeria, while adopting his written address in opposition to the application by the company and its Petro Union Directors, urge the court to dismiss the application.
The defendants in the case are contending, through their lawyers, that none of the 13 witnesses called by the prosecution established any case of fraud against them.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, is prosecuting Petro Union Oil and Gas Limited, a consultant to the company and three of its directors before the court on a 13-count charge of conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretences, attempting to steal and forgery.
The consultant is Abayomi Kukoyi, trading under the name and style of Gladstone Kukoyi and Associates, while the company’s directors facing trial are Messrs Kingsley Okpala, Chidi Okpalaeze and Emmanuel Okpalaeze.
They all pleaded not guilty to the charge when they were arraigned.
In his opposition to the application, the Federal Government maintained that the prosecution had, through its witnesses, established a prima facie case of fraud against the defendants.
It equally claimed that all investigations by Union Bank, Central Bank, Bankers’ Committee and the EFCC confirmed that the defendants were engaged in clearly fraudulent activities.
It said, “We have proved the ingredients of those offences beyond any reasonable doubt and each of the defendants should be invited to present their defence to the charge if they have any.
