Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday threw out a charge involving former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, in the trial of her associate, Jide Omokore.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had filed an eight count charge of fraud to the tune of $1.6 billion against Omokore, with Alison-Madueke named in the eighth count of the charges. The sum is said to be part of proceeds of sales of petroleum products belonging to the Federal Government.
The judge, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, in a ruling he delivered struck out the eighth count after hearing an application by the ex-minister, who had alleged that she was indicted in that particular count, yet was not given the opportunity to defend herself.
The six, named as defendants in the case included, Omokore, his two companies, Atlantic Energy Brass Development Limited and Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Limited.
The other defendants are a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), Victor Briggs; a former Group Executive Director, Exploration and Production of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Abiye Membere; and a former Manager, Planning and Commercial of the NNPC, David Mbanefo.
The offence for which Alison-Madueke and the others were accused of was said to be contrary to section 18 (a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 (as amended and punishable under section 15 (3) of the same Act.
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