EFCC withdraws subsidy fraud charges against four

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has withdrawn charges of alleged fraud in the fuel subsidy payments  against Durosola Omogbenigun and Peter Mba along with their firms.
Counsel for the EFCC, Mr. Oyedepo Rotimi, told a Lagos High Court in Igbosere on Tuesday that the charge tagged,  ID/122C/2012, was mistakenly instituted against Omogbenigun, his company Integrated Resources Limited, like Mba and his  Pinnacle Oil and Gas firm.
According to the lawyer, the charge had not been served on the defence as Tuesday’s proceedings.
Justice Samuel Candide-Johnson struck out the charge following an application by the EFCC.
The EFCC,  in the charge,  alleged that they conspired on  different occasions to fraudulently collect over N2bn from the Federal Government under the Petroleum Support Fund,  purporting the money to be payments for importing certain litres of  petrol).
The four were charged with four counts of conspiracy to obtain and obtaining property by false pretences.
The anti-graft body  said the offences were contrary to Section 8  and 1 (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006.
However, Rotimi said he was instructed by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke,  to withdraw the case.
He said the EFCC  found out after a review that the  suspects did not commit the offence for which they were to be arraigned.
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