Kemisola Oye
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has struck out the charge filed against Senator Ifeanyi Patrick Uba and his company Capital Oil and Gas Industries over alleged One Hundred and Thirty-Five Billion Naira (N135,000,000.00) indebtedness.
Justice Nicholas Oweibo struck out the charge earlier today after an oral application by counsel to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Mr Oluwaseun Onabowu, who informed the court of the withdrawal of the suit.
The court had directed that criminal summons be issued on Senator Ifeanyi Ubah and his company, Capital Oil and Gas Limited over eight counts alleging them of indebtedness to Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, (AMCON) sometime in 2019.
Aside from the alleged debt, Ubah and his company were accused of conspiracy in making false claims in relation to the actual values of certain assets transferred to AMCON under a consent judgment obtained in 2012 contrary to Section 54(1) of the AMCON Act.
However, when the case was called today, the prosecution counsel informed the court that following consent judgment reached in other sister cases in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, he urged the court to strike the charge filed against the defendants.
The defendants’ counsel, Mrs Ifeoma Esom confirmed to the court that agreements have been reached with the complaint.
Justice Oweibo, therefore, in a bench ruling, struck out the change.
It would be recalled that AMCON had in in its eight counts amended charge filed before the court alleged that Ifeanyi Patrick Uba and his company, Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited sometime between 2012 and 2018, conspired together in making false claims in relation to the actual values of certain assets transferred to AMCON under a consent judgment he and his company made with AMCON.
The defendants were also alleged to have obstructed AMCON in the realisation of part of his outstanding debt of N135 billion by frustrating the sale of property at Banana Island.
The prosecution further alleged that Ifeanyi Ubah lied with respect to the actual values of the assets he listed in the terms of settlement and offered partial payment of the debts of Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited.
Part of the amended charge marked FHC/L383C2019 read that “You, Ifeanyi Patrick Ubah, and Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited, sometime between 2012 and 2018, in Nigeria and within the jurisdiction of this honourable Court, conspired together in making false claims in relation to the actual values of certain assets transferred to Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) under the consent judgment delivered in Suit No FHC/L/CS/714/2012 – AMCON v. Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited & Mr Ifeanyi Patrick Ubah on the 1st day of July 2013 in partial payment of the indebtedness of Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited with a view to defeating the realisation of the said judgment debt of Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited to AMCON then standing in the sum of 135 billion naira contrary to Section 54(1)(a) and (d) of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria Act, 2010 (as amended) and punishable under the same Section of the Act.
“That you, Ifeanyi Patrick Ubah and Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited, sometime between 2012 and 2018, in Nigeria and within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, made false claims in relation to the actual values of certain assets transferred to Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) under the consent judgment delivered in suit No. FHC/L/CS/714/2012 AMCON V. Capital Oil and Gas Industries & Mr Ifeanyi Patrick Ubah on the 1st day of July 2013 and which assets were transferred in partial payment of the outstanding indebtedness of Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited to AMCON with a view to defeating the realisation of the judgement debt of Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited to AMCON then standing in the sum of N135 billion contrary to Section 54(1) (a) of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria Act 2010 (as amended) and punishable under the same section of the Act.”
Eighteen-Eleven Media