Three oil marketers and their firms on Monday asked two separate Ikeja High Courts to quash the fuel subsidy fraud charges preferred against them.
Two of the oil marketers, Mahmud Tukur and Alex Ochonogor, alongside their company, Eterna Plc, filed their application before Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo.
Another oil marketer, Emmanuel Morah, and his company Rocky Energy Ltd., also filed a similar application before Justice Lateefat Okunnu.
The application by Tukur and Ochonogor, dated May 3, 2013, was filed by their counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mahmud is the son of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The accused persons were charged to court alongside Abdullahi Alao, son of prominent Ibadan businessman, Alhaji Abdullazeez Arisekola-Alao.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alleged that they had fraudulently obtained N1.8 billion subsidy payment from the Federal Government.
During Monday’s proceedings, Olanipekun informed the court that the application had been served on the EFCC counsel, Mr Rotimi Jacobs (SAN).
Olanipekun said the application was seeking for an order quashing or striking out the charge for want of jurisdiction.
He said: “This charge is a matter relating to the revenue of the Federation on which only the Federal High Court has jurisdiction.
“The substratum of the charge is within the admiralty jurisdiction of the Federal High Court.
“The criminal charge was not instituted in accordance with procedural due process.”
Olanipekun said that his clients filed the application late because they were still discussing with the Federal Government pertaining to the charge.
“As at now, we are still discussing. I say this from the Bar even if my learned friend, Jacobs, claims not to be aware,” he added.
Jacobs, however, maintained that he was not aware of the said discussion between his client (Federal Government) and the accused persons.
He urged the court to allow the parties take the applications orally but the judge declined his request.
Onigbanjo, thereafter, adjourned the matter till May 28 for arguments.
He also directed all the parties to file and attach their written addresses to the processes before the next adjournment date.
The application by Morah and his company, dated March 13, 2013, was filed by their counsel, Mr Eubena Ahmedu.
They were charged to court alongside Adamu Maula, George Ogbonna and Downstream Energy Resources Ltd.
The EFCC alleged that they had fraudulently collected N789.6 million from the Federal Government as subsidy payments.
Moving the application, Ahmedu urged the court to quash the eight-count charge against his clients and to discharge them.
He argued that the accused persons were charged to court under a repealed law, the Criminal Code Law of Lagos State, 2003.
Opposing the application, Jacobs maintained that the accused persons were charged to court under the relevant law in force when they committed the alleged offences.
The judge adjourned the matter till May 9 for ruling on the application