agos special offences court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced Mamman Ali, son of former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairman Ahmadu Ali, to 14 years in prison over his role in a ₦2.2 billion oil subsidy scam.
Also sentenced was Christian Taylor, an oil marketer and Ali’s co-defendant. The duo were convicted on charges brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), including conspiracy to obtain money by false pretences, obtaining by false pretences, forgery, and use of false documents — all in violation of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011.
The EFCC had initially arraigned the defendants on a 49-count charge, later amended to 57 counts following developments in the trial. Both men pleaded not guilty.
According to the prosecution, led by Seiduh Atteh, Ali and Taylor fraudulently obtained ₦1.48 billion from the federal government under the Petroleum Support Fund by claiming it was payment for importing over 20 million litres of premium motor spirit (PMS) through Nasaman Oil Services Ltd — a claim the court found to be entirely fabricated.
The case, initially before justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo, was reassigned to justice Mojisola Dada after Onigbanjo recused himself. Justice Dada presided over the re-arraigned defendants and admitted into evidence the documents and witness testimonies presented by the EFCC.
In her judgment delivered on Tuesday, Dada held that the prosecution had established its case beyond reasonable doubt and described the conduct of the defendants as a serious breach of public trust.
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