A Federal High Court on Monday fixed March 28, 2025 for the re-arraignment of four directors of an oil company, Petro Union Oil and Gas Limited over an alleged £2.6 billion fraud.
Although they were billed to be arraigned today, Monday March 10, 2025, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke, the trial judge fixed the fresh date because only three out of five defendants were duly served the court summons and charges for the arraignment.
The defendants are Petro Union Oil and Gas Limited, Abayomi Kukoyi, Prince Kingsley Okpala, Prince Chidi Okpalaeze, and Prince Emmanuel Okpalaeze.
The Defendants who are company directors of Petro Union Oil and Gas Limited alongside Prince Isaac Okpala (now deceased) and Princess Gladys Okpalaeze (now at large), were alleged to have fraudulently procured a Barclay’s Bank cheque dated December 29, 1994 in the sum of £2, 556, 000, 000.00 to Union Bank of Nigeria Plc and under the pretext that it was meant for the construction of three (3) petrochemical refinery complexes in Nigeria.
The Defendants were also alleged to have forged a statement of account in the name of “Goldmatic Limited”, purportedly issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria, in an attempt to obtain the sum of £2,159,221,313.54 billion. They were alleged to have committed these offenses between 1994 and 2007.
At the mention of the case, lawyer to Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr Rotimi Jacobs, SAN appeared for the prosecution, while Mr Olubiyi Adediji appeared for 1st and 3rd Defendants. But there was no appearance for 4th and 5th Defendants.
It would be recalled that trial of the defendants, who had earlier been arraigned before Justice Mohammed Liman of the Federal High Court, Lagos, had reached the stage where the prosecution had close its case.
The defendants, instead of entering Defence filed a no-case submission, which was overruled by the judge, who ordered them to enter defence.
Coincidentally, Justice Liman got promotion and was elevated to the Court of Appeal, prompting re-assignment of the matter to the new trial Justice Aneke who is starting the case de novo.
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