Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Lagos has scheduled March 28, 2025, for the arraignment of four directors of Petro Union Oil and Gas Limited over an alleged £2.5 billion fraud. The hearing was delayed after it was confirmed that only three of the five defendants had received their court summons.
The defendants include Petro Union Oil and Gas Limited (1st Defendant), Abayomi Kukoyi (2nd Defendant), Kingsley Okpala (3rd Defendant), Chidi Okpalaele (4th Defendant), and Emmanuel Okpalaele (5th Defendant). All are accused of fraudulently obtaining a Barclays Bank cheque worth £2,556,000,000 in December 1994, which they allegedly presented to Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, falsely claiming it was for the construction of petrochemical refineries in Nigeria.
The charges, which span from 1994 to 2007, also include allegations of forgery, with the defendants accused of forging a statement of account in the name of Goldmatic Limited to secure an additional £2.16 billion. The arraignment was adjourned because the court had not been able to serve summons to all the defendants.
At the case mention, Rotimi Jacobs, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), represented the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), while Olubiyi Adediji appeared for the 1st and 3rd defendants. However, there was no legal representation for the 4th and 5th defendants.
The case was initially handled by Justice Mohammed Liman, who had reached a point where the prosecution had closed its case. However, the defendants filed a no-case submission, which was overruled, and they were ordered to enter their defense. After Justice Liman was promoted to the Court of Appeal, the case was reassigned to Justice Aneke, who will now begin the trial afresh.
The defendants are charged with fraudulently procuring the Barclays Bank cheque and falsely representing that the cheque was meant for foreign investment in the construction of refineries in Nigeria, knowing it was unlawfully obtained.
Some of the charges in the amended indictment include claims that the defendants fraudulently presented the Barclays Bank cheque worth £2,556,000,000 as legitimate, with the intent to use it for building refineries in Nigeria. This is in violation of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, which the defendants are accused of contravening. The arraignment has been adjourned until March 28, 2025, to allow for proper legal proceedings to take place.
