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Seven men have been convicted and sentenced to 84 years imprisonment for illegal and unlawful dealing in 1,459 metric tonnes of petrol.
Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court delivered the judgement in Lagos on Friday.
The convicts – Adedamola Ogungbayi, Olaniran Olabode; Suraju Gasali; Moses Emmanuel; Wilson Bonsi; Okaraodi Uche and Onyeogo Happy – would spend 12 years each in prison.
Justice Abang also ordered that both the vessel, MT Good Success used by the convicts in stealing the said petroleum product, as well as the recovered petroleum product should be forfeited to the Federal Government.
The judge further directed that the sums of N66.6m and $975,000 belonging to the convicts’ company, Hepa Global Energy Limited, domiciled with the First City Monument Bank should also be forfeited to the Federal government.
The court also ordered the prosecution to file an affidavit of compliance with the order within 21 days of the judgment.
The seven convicts, their vessel and company were on August 28, 2014 arraigned before the court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a five-count charge before Abang.