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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Fraud (Public funds) |
Sentence: |
10 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
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Year Crime: |
2012 |
Year Convicted: |
2017 |
Year Cleared: |
2018 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Nigeria |
County or Region of Crime: |
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City of Crime: |
Lagos |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Ada Ugo-Ngali, Walter Wagbatsoma, and Ontario Oil and Gas company were co-defendants wrongly convicted on January 13, 2017 of fraud against the Nigerian government in 2010 in Lagos, Nigeria. Ugo-Ngali was the Managing Director of Ontario Oil and Gas. Ugo-Ngali, the company chairman, Walter Wagbatsoma, and the company were arraigned on August 1, 2013 on the charge by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that they engaged in a fuel subsidy fraud of N754m from the Nigerian government in the second and third quarters of 2010.* Their eight count charge alleged that they fraudulently obtained the money from the Nigerian government as a subsidy for purportedly importing petrol into the country. During Ugo-Ngali's trial her codefendant Wagbatsoma was out of the country jailed in the United Kingdom on another matter, so he was tried in absentia. After her conviction following a bench trial presided over by Justice Lateefa Okunnu of the Lagos High Court, Ugo-Ngali fainted in the courtroom before she could be sentenced. However, she was immediately taken into custody. On January 26, 2017 Justice Okunnu sentenced Ada Ugo-Ngali and Wagbatsoma to 10 year prison terms with credit for the time in custody since January 13. Justice Okunnu also ordered the refund of the N754m to the Federal Government. Ugo-Ngali appealed on February 9, 2017. On February 8, 2018 a three-judge panel of the Appeals Court of Nigeria set-aside the convictions of the defendants and their acquittals were ordered on the basis their the trial was a nullity in the absence of the defendant Wagbatsoma. Effectively the trial court lacked jurisdiction to proceed with the trial. Lead judge, Justice M. L. Garba, announced the court's ruling that: "upon reading th? record ?f appeal ?nd r?????tiv? briefs ?f argument filed ?n behalf ?f b?th parties, i?t i? ordered th?t f?r b?ing a nullity th? proceedings b? High court, in th? C?urt ?f Appeal trial ?f th? appellant ?nd ?th?r? appellants in appeal CA/L/348c/17, ?nd CA/L/389c/17, including th? judgment delivered ?n January 13, 2017, convicting th?m ?f th? offences th?? w?r? tri?d f?r ?nd th? ??nt?n?? passed ?n th?m ?n January 26, 2017, in th? absence ?f appellant in CA/L/348c/17, ?r? h?r?b? set aside. ... That in consequence, th? conviction ?nd ??nt?n?? ?f th? appellant in th? ??id judgment ?r? quashed ?nd th? appellant discharged ?nd acquitted accordingly." A fourth defendant in the case had been acquitted after the trial. Babafemi Fakuade an official of the Petroleum Products Price and Regulatory Agency, and Justice Okunnu found that the charge of forgery brought against him was not sustainable: "The case against the third defendant is that he helped in forging the Shore Quality Certificate; what I see before me is that he only signed the document while acting in his capacity as an PPRA official. It is not right in criminal cases to infer guilt without concrete evidence, there is no proof that he was aware that the documents were false. The prosecution have not been able to prove the case of forgery against the third defendant." ("Subsidy scam: Drama as Ontario Oil MD, Ada Ugo-Ngali slumps in court, By Ameh Comrade Godwin, Daily Post (Lagos), January 13, 2017) *Note: Based on the exchange rate on February 11, 2018, 754,00,000 Nigerian Naira was equal to US$2,077,190." |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
"On February 8, 2018 a three-judge panel of the Appeals Court of Nigeria set-aside the convictions of the defendants and their acquittals were ordered on the basis their the trial was a nullity in the absence of the defendant Wagbatsoma. Lead judge, Justice M. L. Garba, announced the court's ruling that: "upon reading th? record ?f appeal ?nd r?????tiv? briefs ?f argument filed ?n behalf ?f b?th parties, i?t i? ordered th?t f?r b?ing a nullity th? proceedings b? High court, in th? C?urt ?f Appeal trial ?f th? appellant ?nd ?th?r? appellants in appeal CA/L/348c/17, ?nd CA/L/389c/17, including th? judgment delivered ?n January 13, 2017, convicting th?m ?f th? offences th?? w?r? tri?d f?r ?nd th? ??nt?n?? passed ?n th?m ?n January 26, 2017, in th? absence ?f appellant in CA/L/348c/17, ?r? h?r?b? set aside. ... That in consequence, th? conviction ?nd ??nt?n?? ?f th? appellant in th? ??id judgment ?r? quashed ?nd th? appellant discharged ?nd acquitted accordingly."" |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
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Age When Released: |
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Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Oil fraud: Appeal Court discharges, acquits Ada Ugo-Ngali, M.D Ontario Oil, By Ameh Comrade Godwin, Daily Post (Lagos, Nigeria), February 9, 2018" |
Information Location 1: |
http://dailypost.ng/2018/02/09/oil-fraud-appeal-court-discharges-acquits-ada-ugo-ngali-m-d-ontario-oil/ |
Information Source 2: |
"Subsidy Fraud: Appeal Court Acquits Ontario Oil MD, Ugo-Ngali, By Davidson Iriekpen, This Day (Lagos, Nigeria), February 10, 2018" |
Information Location 2: |
https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2018/02/10/subsidy-fraud-appeal-court-acquits-ontario-oil-md-ugo-ngali/ |
Information Source 3: |
"Subsidy scam: Drama as Ontario Oil MD, Ada Ugo-Ngali slumps in court, By Ameh Comrade Godwin, Daily Post (Lagos, Nigeria), January 13, 2017" |
Information Location 3: |
http://dailypost.ng/2017/01/13/subsidy-scam-drama-ontario-oil-md-ada-ugo-ngali-slumps-court/ |
Information Source 4: |
"Court sentences Ontario oil boss, Wagbatsoma to 10 years in prison over subsidy fraud, By Seun Opejobi, Daily Post (Lagos, Nigeria), January 26, 2017" |
Information Location 4: |
http://dailypost.ng/2017/01/26/breaking-court-sentences-ontario-oil-boss-wagbatsoma-10-years-prison-subsidy-fraud/ |
Information Source 5: |
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Information Location 5: |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org