A prosecution witness in the ongoing N1.1 billion subsidy fraud against an oil marketer, Opeyemi Ajuwah has told an Ikeja High Court that a staff from his company signed the Empty Tank Certificate, ETC, issued by a vessel, MT Brave.

Ajuyah, and her company, Majope Investment Limited, are answering charges filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC before Justice Lateefat Okunnu.

They are standing trial with Abdullahi Alao, son of the late Ibadan based business mogul, Alhaji Arisekola Alao, his company, Ax-energy Limited and Olanrewaju Olalusi.

At the resumed hearing, the witness, Yayah Zon Kassim, who is the Company Secretary and Legal Adviser of General Marine and Oil Services Limited, GMO, revealed to the court that Okechukwu Opo, one of the surveyors that signed the document works with the company.

The witness made the disclosure under cross examination by  counsel to Ajuwah, Olanrewaju Ajanaku.

In his evidence, Kassim told the court that on September 3, 2012, his company received a letter from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) requesting them to authenticate two documents, the empty tank certificate and the Vessel’s MT Brave haulage report.

He said they declined to authenticate the documents because it is not their own.

“We saw a signature of one of our staff who signed it. After we read it, we contacted Q and Q, we told them we have seen a document from them signed by our staff but that we cannot authenticate it”.

Kassim his company, GMO later wrote the EFCC that they are not in position to authenticate the document because they did not issue the empty tank certificate.

“Since it has to do with investigation, we told the EFCC to reject the Empty Tank Certificate issued by Q and Q”.

He said that the staff of his company, Okechukwu Opo, was in better position to explain why he signed the document.

According to Kassim, the mandate given his  company by the Nigerian Port Authority(NPA) is limited to determining arrival of vessels.

The trial judge, Justice Okunnu has adjourned the matter to February 16, 2015 for further trial.

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