Oluwaseun Ogunbambo V. Federal Republic Of Nigeria & Ors (2013)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

RITA NOSAKHARE PEMU, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

This is an appeal against the Ruling of Honourable Justice S. A. Onigbanjo of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja Judicial Division delivered on the 5th of December 2012.

In it, the learned trial Judge dismissed the Appellant’s summons for bail.

The Appellant is dissatisfied with the Ruling and has appealed same by filing a Notice of Appeal on the 19th of December 2012 with four (4) Grounds of Appeal – pages 302-306 of the Record of Appeal.

The facts are brief.

The Appellant is facing a 13 counts charge of Forgery and obtaining by False Pretences, which offences are bailable. The charges were preferred against him by the 1st Respondent.

On the 21st of November 2012, he filed an application for bail, pending the determination of the substantive criminal case.

The 1st Respondent had filed a counter-affidavit to the bail application, with Exhibits EFCC 1, EFCC 3.

Sequel to oil subsidy crises in 2012, the Honourable Minister for Petroleum Resources and other Civil Society Organization petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission with a view to unravel the astronomical rise in subsidy paid to petroleum marketers – pages 127-134 of the Record of Appeal.

On the strength of this, the 1st Respondent investigated the petitions, and found that the Appellant’s name and companies were involved in fraudulently obtaining subsidy payments from the 1st Respondent to the tune of N4.2 Billion, and without supplying the said petroleum products.

After several attempts by the 1st Respondent to get the Appellant to report at its office in Abuja to answer to allegations against him, the Appellant, on the 15th day of July 2012 was arrested and consequently charged to court in suit No. ID/116C/2012.

The Appellant had applied for bail in that case. On the 30th of August 2012, he was granted bail by Honourable Justice Folami.

The Appellant was found to be culpable of other charges, when the same allegation of fraud involving another company known as Nasaman Oil Service Ltd, was found to have been involved, as the sole beneficiary of subsidy claims paid on that station, which amounted to N1.2 Billion. It is on the strength of this that the information culminating in this appeal was again preferred against the Appellant.

Before now, the Appellant had been standing trial in Suit No.ID/116C/2012 and ID/131C/2012.