Capital Oil Boss, Ifeanyi Uba, To Remain In Custody

Efforts by the detained Managing Director of the Capital Oil and Gas
Limited, Ifeanyi Uba, and four of his company's executives to secure
their bail, yesterday, suffered a setback as a Federal High Court,
Lagos, refused their ex-parte application.

PHOTO: Ifeanyi Uba

Uba and his officials had approached the court through an ex-parte
application, praying it to grant them bail from police detention.

In his ruling, Justice Okon Abang, refused their ex-parte application
while directing them to put the respondents on notice through a motion
on notice. The matter is expected to be heard today.

Those who joined Ubah to ask for bail are Nsikan Usoro (Head of
Trading), Godfrey Okorie (Depot Manager), Chibuzor Ogbuokiri (General
Manager, Operations) and Orji Joseph Anayo (Executive Director,
Operations).
Joined as respondents in the case are the Inspector General of Police,
IGP, Commissioner of Police, SFU and Francis Idu Alonyenu, a Chief
Superintendent of Police.

Their counsel, Joseph Nwobike, SAN had argued that the court should
release them pending the determination of a substantive suit
challenging their continued detention.

They urged the court to grant them an order directing the respondents
to admit the applicants to bail or release them from detention pending
the determination of the substantive suit.

They also prayed for an order of interim injunction restraining the
respondents and their agents from further arresting and detaining the
applicants in relation to the same fuel subsidy issue pending the
determination of the substantive suit.

It will be recalled that the applicants were arrested on September 9
by men of the Police's Special Fraud Unit (SFU), Ikoyi, Lagos, for
allegedly defrauding the country of N43.291billion in fuel subsidy
fund.

A Magistrate Court at Tinubu, Lagos presided over by Magistrate
Martins Omowunmi, had last Thursday, a granted a request for remand,
brought pursuant to Section 264 of the Administration of Criminal
Justice Law of Lagos by the police, while he ordered that they be kept
in police custody for 14 days.

The police said they were being investigated for offences bordering on
economic sabotage, obtaining money by false pretences and stealing.

They were accused of defrauding the Federal Government, "by falsely
pretending that the company had imported and sold 538, 74 million
litres of Premium Motor Spirit during the 2011 fiscal year through 26
transactions."

-Vanguard