Former Top NNPC Officials Sentence To Two Years In Prison After $1.6b Money Laundering Trial

Victor Briggs and Abiye Membere, both former top officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), were sentenced to two years in prison after being found guilty of violating Section 98 of the Criminal Code Act by “Unethically collecting car gifts as public officials.”

Justice Nnamdi Digmba of the Federal High Court in Abuja found the pair guilty on February 7, but the court deferred sentencing until today, February 8, 2023.

When the case was reopened today, the defendants pleaded with the court to exercise mercy while O.A. Atolagbe, who represented the lead prosecutor, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, urged the court to sentence the defendants to incarceration.

The defendants were given a sentence of two years in prison with the possibility of a fine of two million naira each, which had to be paid right away to the federal government.

The EFCC brought charges against the convicts for conspiring to get the NPDC to help Olajide Omokore, Atlantic Energy Brass Development Limited, and Atlantic Energy Drilling Concept Limited lift crude as well as for accepting cars as gifts from Omokore and his companies.

One of the charge reads: “That you, OLAJIDE JONES OMOKORE, ATLANTIC ENERGY BRASS DEVELOPMENT LTD, ATLANTIC ENERGY DRILLING CONCEPT LTD and KOLAWOLE AKANNI ALUKO (now at large) between May 2013 and March 2014 within the jurisdiction of  this Honourable Court obtained by false pretense and with intent to defraud, 7,551,867 barrels of crude oil (Brass blend) valued at the sum of $823,75,189.95 (Eight Hundred and Twenty Three Million, Seventy-Five Thousand, One Hundred and Eighty-Nine US Dollars and Ninety-Five Cents) from Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Federal Government of Nigeria on the false pretence that you had funds (both local and foreign) necessary to support the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Limited in petroleum operation for the OML 60,61, 62 and 63 and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act Cap. A6, 2010, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act”.