The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday re-arraigned a businessman, Wilson Opuwei, and his company, Dateline Energy Services Ltd., before the Lagos Special Offences Court in Ikeja over an alleged $550,000 fraud linked to a botched kerosene supply deal.
Opuwei was docked before Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe on a four-count charge bordering on obtaining by false pretences and stealing, following years of delays that stalled the trial.
According to the EFCC, the defendants allegedly collected $500,000 and an additional $50,000 in April 2011 from a businessman, Prince Donatus Okonkwo, under the guise of securing an allocation of 5,000 metric tonnes of Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK) from the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC)—a claim the anti-graft agency said was false.
One of the charges alleged that the money was obtained through an intermediary, Chimaobi Anyaso, with the intent to defraud.
Opuwei, however, pleaded not guilty when the charges were read in court.
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The case, first instituted in 2011, has suffered repeated setbacks. The EFCC told the court that although the prosecution closed its case as far back as 2015, the defence failed to open its own, forcing the trial to start afresh.
The prolonged delay was attributed to the elevation and transfer of trial judges, as well as what the prosecution described as deliberate defence tactics. The matter had passed through multiple judges, including Justices Habeeb Abiru, Onigbanjo, and Lawal Akapo, before landing before Justice Abike-Fadipe.
Defence counsel urged the court to allow Opuwei to remain on the bail granted in 2012, a request Justice Abike-Fadipe granted.
The judge ordered that the defendant should continue on the existing bail conditions and adjourned the matter to March 19, 30 and 31, and April 1 and 2, 2026, for trial to commence de novo.
The EFCC said it was ready to prosecute the case to its logical conclusion.
