After over a year of committing a theft of over 13 million liters of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday October 29, 2025 finally arraigned a vessel, MT Ostria, and three individuals before Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, over allegations of petroleum theft involving over 13 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) belonging to NNPC Retail Limited.

The theft which was carried out in a most brazen manner involved trans loading into another vessel in the middle of the sea, and filling the space hitherto occupied by PMS with ocean water!

The defendants, Captain Raymundo A. Panaligam, Chief Officer Roneno Villarin, who were officials of the vessel was charged alongside Mr. Vincent Wayas, who staff of GMO, an inspectorate firm representing the NNPC.

The defendants are facing a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy and stealing.

According to the charge, the defendants conspired to steal Thirteen Million, Three Hundred and Fifty Four thousand) 13, 324,000 litres of PMS, offences said to be contrary to Sections 411 and 280 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015, and punishable under Section 287 of the same law.

One of the counts reads:

“MT Ostria, Captain Raymundo A. Panaligam, Chief Officer Roneno Villarin and Mr. Vincent Wayas sometime in January 2024 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, conspired amongst yourselves to commit felony, to wit: stealing of Thirteen Million, Five Hundred and Fifty Four Thousand (13,354,000) litres of Premium Motor Spirit, property of NNPC Retail Limited.”

Another count reads:

“MT OSTRIA, CAPTAIN RAYMUNDO A. PANALIGAM,CHIEF OFFICER RONENO VILLARI and MR. VINCENT WAYAS on or about 17th January 2024 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court dishonestly took (Nine Milllon) 9,000,000.00 litres of Premium Motor Spirit Property of NNPC Retall Limited”.

EFCC alleged that the defendants, dishonestly took 9,000,000 litres of PMS belonging to NNPC Retail Limited, while a separate count accuses them of stealing an additional 3,000,000 litres of the same product.

All defendants pleaded Not Guilty to the charges.

Following their plea, the prosecuting counsel, Bilikisu Buhari, prayed the court to remand all the defendants in correctional facility pending commencement of their trial.

The EFCC counsel further argued that the applicant is a flight risk, that the defendants have noting to lose if jumps bail or absconded as she prayed the court to declined their bail while further asked the court to set a trial date.

But, the defence teams informed the court that bail applications had already been filed and urged that the defendants be allowed to continue under the bail conditions earlier granted by the EFCC because they had not default on the the terms of administrative bail granted them by the anti-graft agency.

Justice Dada ruled that the defendants should continue on the existing EFCC bail conditions and subsequently adjourned the case to November 17 and 27, 2025, for the commencement of trial.

Based on a similar case before Justice Akintunde Aluko of the Federal High Court, Lagos, Gavel International on February 12, 2025 reported how the theft was carried out .

MT Ostria was chartered by NNPC Shipping and Logistics for three months to carry petroleum products belonging to the plaintiff from Lagos offshore, that is from a mother vessel named The Northern Light, to the 3rd defendant’s Taurus Storage facility at Koko, Delta State. Due to this prior contract, the plaintiff and the 3rd defendant executed a Throughput Agreement dated March 18, 2022, and extended by an addendum dated July 1,2023 “for the purpose of handling, throughput, and holding certain plaintiff’s petroleum products at the Taurus Storage Terminal at Koko”.

On January 15, 2024, NNPC Trading Ltd entered into a contract with the plaintiff to sell 20,347,750 litres of Petrol to the plaintiff on credit. Upon NNPC Shipping and Logistics chartering MT Ostria,MT Ostria’s Master issued a bill of lading to the plaintiff undertaking to carry its petrol as specified, from the mother vessel to Taurus Storage Facility Koko.

By the shipped bill of lading number NSL/LAG23/000018 dated at Atlas Cove, 15 January 2024, signed by the 1st defendant’s Master or Agent on behalf of the 2nd defendant, both acknowledged their receipt and shipment of about 21 million litres of the plaintiff’s PMS in apparent good order and condition, clean on board of MT Ostria for carriage as common carrier from Port of Lagos Offshore ex-MT Northern Light(the mother vessel) to, and delivery at the Taurus Storage facility at Koko Federal Port unto the account of the plaintiff or to its assigns or order”.

On January 14, at about 4.22 pm, the first defendant started the ship to ship loading of the PMS from the mother vessel, MT Northern Light. It completed loading on January 15, 2024. As required by law, the Nigerian Navy must give permission for any Ship to Ship loading to take place in Nigerian territorial waters. This particular loading was approved by the Nigerian Navy. All pre-loading operational procedures such as sampling, quality analysis, Ullaging or calculation were carried out by appointed chemist, and surveyor, General Marine and Services Ltd. The inspection and analysis results certified the cargo as meeting the required standards and all parties signed the cargo documents before the vessel was given the green light to sail to Koko Federal Port.

By the time the vessel arrived at the Taurus Storage facility at Koko Federal Port on January 17, 2024, at 16:48 hours, it was discovered that the first defendant and her crew had discharged a part of the consignment of PMS into another vessel and replaced it with sea water. The plaintiff presented the Bill of lading to the 1st and 2nd defendant at the Taurus Storage Facility but soon after discharge operations started, the defendants suspended the discharge on January 19 2024 due to the discovery of a huge ship to shore variance.

Investigations revealed how the 1st defendant and its crew managed to transfer part of the consignment into another vessel while an illegal and unapproved transshipment was carried out after the approved one.

Immediately after the Ship to Ship(STS) transfer from the MT Northern Light to the 1st defendant, at about 11.52 hours on 15 January 2024 and whilst the pumps and other equipment it used to make the STS from the MT Northern Light were still connected to the 1st defendant, the 1st defendant made another STS transfer (not permitted by the Nigerian Navy) of the plaintiff’s PMS from its tanks into another motor tanker(falsely and purporting to be a passenger vessel) known as Orion Atlantic but whose MSSI number is 657645000 and Synthetic Aperture Radar(SAR) report showed was called Garroch, a tanker”.

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