BEVERLY HILLS, November 21, (THEWILL) – The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has re-arraigned the Chairman of Atlantic Energy Brass Development Limited and Atlantic Energy Drilling Concept Limited, Jide Omokore, before Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, of the Federal High Court, over alleged criminal diversion of over $1.6 billion belonging to the Federal Government under the guise of oil swap.
Omokore was re-arraigned along with Victor Briggs, Abiye Membere, David Mbanefo, Atlantic Energy Brass Development Limited and Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Limited on a nine-count amended charge of criminal diversion of about $1.6 billion alleged to be proceeds of petroleum products belonging to the Federal Government.
EFCC alleged that Omokore, an ally of Former Minister for Petroleum, Diezani Madueke, and the others, claimed to have the expertise and the wherewithal to procure crude oil from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and process same and deliver the monetary equivalent of 5,652,227 barrels of crude oil to them by the corporation.
However, it declares that the defendants intentionally defrauded the government by taking the crude and not delivering the money or the crude back to the government.
They pleaded “not guilty” when the charges were read to them which made prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), to request the court to fix a date for the commencement of trial, and to allow the defendants to enjoy the bail earlier granted them by Justice Binta Nyako.
Counsel to the defendants did not object to the request of Jacobs but urged the court to accede to his request.
Justice Dimgba then fixed December 8 for hearing in the case and adopted the bail terms previously ordered by Justice Nyako.
THEWILL recalls that Omokore and his co-defendants were first arraigned before Justice Nyako on July 4, but the case file was afterwards transferred to Justice Dimgba by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court.
