N11bn subsidy scam: Court rules on Uba’s detention tomorrow

By Vivian Okejeme
Abuja

Justice Yusuf Haliru of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, sitting in Jabi, will tomorrow rule on a motion on notice brought before him by Chief Executive Officer of Capital Oil and Gas Ltd, Ifeanyi Uba.
The Capital Oil Boss is challenging his continued detention by the Department of State Services (DSS).

The DSS claimed that Uba was arrested on suspicion of his involvement in a crime, having converted (84 million litres) of premium motor    spirit belonging to the NNPC kept in the custody of Hus tank farm, for his personal use.
Uba, through his lawyer, Ifeoma Esom, is asking the court for “an order discharging the exparte order made by the court on May 10, 2017, allowing the applicant to detain the respondent in the custody of the applicant for an initial period of 14 days pending the completion of investigation.”

Based on a report made available by the NNPC over the purely civil dispute arising out of the alleged indebtedness of COG to the NNPC, DSS arrested Uba from his house in Lagos on March 24, 2017, and kept him in its custody until April 14, 2017, when he was temporarily and conditionally released after he had been coerced into making payment of N2 billion and executing various documents in favour of NNPC and AMCON.

Esom further told the court that Uba upon return to his home in Lagos, in fear for his life and liberty should he renew his claims that he was not indebted to either NNPC Retail Ltd or AMCON as he had maintained before his incarceration, instructed his counsel to file an application for the enforcement of his fundamental rights.
When the suit came up before the Lagos division of the Federal High Court on April 27, 2017, the court granted him leave to serve the originating processes on the DSS outside Lagos whereupon the originating processes were served on them on April 28, 2017.

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