A former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Joseph Daudu (SAN), has asked the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja to reject the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN)’s attempt to discontinue a high-profile oil theft trial involving multinational oil trading giant Trafigura Beheer BV and Trafigura PTE Limited.
Appearing before Justice Mojisola Dada on Thursday, Daudu, who is representing the nominal complainant, Nadabo Energy Limited, argued that the case was instituted under the Criminal Code Law of Lagos State (Cap. C17, 2003), and not the federal penal system.
“The notice of discontinuance brought by the AGF’s office is unconstitutional,” Daudu said, adding that it violated Section 211(1) of the 1999 Constitution.
According to him, since the prosecution originated from Lagos State, it falls exclusively under the jurisdiction of the Attorney General of Lagos State, not the Federal Government.
Naijaonpoint reports that the AGF, acting through the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), had filed a notice of discontinuance after a petition by Trafigura’s counsel, asking the Federal Government to take over the case.
However, Daudu contended that the action was “ultra vires, null, void, and constitutionally defective.”
“This notice is fundamentally flawed, shrouded in incompetence, and should be set aside,” he submitted.
The case—ID/7980c/2018—centres on allegations by the Special Fraud Unit (SFU) that Trafigura and five others stole Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) worth approximately $8,442,806.09 from Nadabo Energy.
The other defendants include Yusuf Kwande, Mettle Energy and Gas, Rembrandt Ltd, Osahon Asemota, and Jil Engineering and Oil Services Ltd.
All defendants had earlier pleaded not guilty.
The trial had advanced significantly, with the prosecution presenting 17 witnesses. When the defence filed a no-case submission, Justice Dada dismissed it, ordering the accused to open their defence.
Rather than proceed with their defence, Trafigura’s legal team petitioned the AGF to terminate the matter, prompting the controversial notice of discontinuance.
The judge later discharged the defendants after the notice was moved by the prosecution.
Bode Olanipekun (SAN), lead counsel to Trafigura, had argued that the defendants had already faced similar charges in a prior case before Justice Sedotan Ogunsanya, and sought the dismissal of the fresh case on grounds of double jeopardy.
But Justice Dada ruled that no connection existed between the two cases, and dismissed the application as lacking merit.
Following several court orders directing the trial to proceed, Trafigura’s counsel began defence proceedings and called three witnesses before reaching out to the AGF to take over the case—a move that Daudu strongly opposed.