By Samuel Malik
Nine foreigners and one vessel were on Thursday arraigned for oil bunkering by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
The foreigners, made of four Filipinos and five Bangladeshis – Axel Joseph Gibo Jabone, MD Zahirul Islam, Juanto Camireno Infantado, Suarin Fernando Alave, Gatila Jaypee Gadayan, Islam Shahinul; Islam Rafiqul, Shaikh Shibli Nomany and Rolando Jose Comendador – were arraigned alongside MT Asteris, the vessel involved in the illegal act.
They are standing trial on charge of conspiracy and illegal dealing in petroleum products before Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court, Lagos.
According to the anti-graft agency, the vessel and crew were arrested by the Nigerian Navy on March 26, 2015, in Lagos with 3423.097 metric tonnes of crude oil without the documents permitting such lifting, and upon interrogation, the captain of the crew said the ship had sailed from Benin Republic and was empty.
However, further investigation showed it carried crude and the captain could not say who it belonged to or where it was headed.
The accused pleaded not guilty and were granted bail in the sum of N50 million with two sureties in like sum, who must deposit their international passports with two recent passport photographs.
Justice Buba adjourned the case to June 23, 2015, when trial is expected to begin.