Two Oil Marketers Jailed For 14 Years Over £1.1bn Oil Subsidy Fraud In Nigeria.
In a landmark ruling, Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday, 27 May 2025, sentenced two oil marketers, Mamman Nasir Ali and Christian Taylor, to 14 years imprisonment each for their roles in a N2.2 billion (£1.1 billion) oil subsidy fraud. The duo, alongside their company, Nasaman Oil Services Limited, were convicted on an amended 57-count charge related to conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretences, forgery, and using false documents.
The case, prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), revealed how the defendants defrauded the Federal Government of Nigeria through false claims under the Petroleum Support Fund. One charge detailed how, on 9 November 2011, the defendants conspired to fraudulently obtain N749,991,273.36 (approximately £374,000) by falsely claiming it was a subsidy for importing 10,031,986 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) from SEATAC Petroleum Ltd of the British Virgin Islands via MT Liquid Fortune Ltd. Another count highlighted a similar scheme on 11 April 2011, where they obtained N1,480,074,125.61 (approximately £740,000) for 20,492,982.50 litres of PMS, which they falsely claimed to have imported.
Despite pleading not guilty, the prosecution, led by Seiduh Atteh, presented compelling evidence, including witness testimonies and documents admitted by the court. Justice Dada, in her judgment, described the defendants’ actions as not only a fraud against the government but also a severe blow to the integrity of Nigeria’s oil subsidy programme. She sentenced Ali and Taylor to 14 years imprisonment each and ordered the forfeiture of assets and accounts linked to the fraud. Additionally, arrest warrants were issued for two other suspects, Oluwaseun Ogunbambo and Olabisi Abdul-Afeez, who remain at large.
The case, initially before Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo of the Lagos State High Court, was reassigned to Justice Dada after Onigbanjo’s withdrawal. The conviction marks a significant step in Nigeria’s fight against corruption in the oil sector, underscoring the judiciary’s commitment to holding perpetrators accountable.
The convicted marketers have been remanded to a correctional centre, bringing to a close a high-profile case that has drawn attention to the vulnerabilities in Nigeria’s subsidy system.