Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has led a team of senior lawyers to represent the Federal Government at a Supreme Court hearing on the Petro Union Oil and Gas Limited case, in a move to safeguard Nigeria from potential fraud.
The development marks the first time the Federal Government was represented at such a high level since the little-known company secured a judgment from the Federal High Court in Abuja for £2.556 billion.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had concluded in its investigation, reporting that Petro Union obtained the judgment by allegedly using a Barclays Bank UK cheque to draw from an account closed five years before it was presented.
The anti-graft agency’s finding led to the ongoing prosecution of the oil company’s directors before the Federal High Court in Lagos. The directors, Prince Kingsley Okpala, Prince Chidi Okpalaeze, Prince Emmanuel Okpalaeze, and Abayomi Kukoyi (trading as Gladstone Kukoyi & Associates), are facing a 13-count charge of conspiracy, forgery and fraud before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke.
Fagbemi’s appearance in the controversial case is, particularly, notable because it demonstrates the Federal Government’s resolve to fight the March 11, 2014, court order, which directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Union Bank of Nigeria, the Minister of Finance, and the Attorney-General to jointly pay Petro Union the judgment amount along with 15 per cent interest yearly.
