Obasanjo’s In-Law, John Abebe Sentenced To Seven Years In Prison For Forgery

Dr John Abebe, the in-law to the former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has been sentenced to seven years in prison for forgery and money laundering.

Justice Mojisola Dada of Ikeja Special Offences Court gave the verdict on Saturday with an option of a fine to the tune of N50 million to be paid within 30 days in lieu of imprisonment.

Abebe, who is a younger brother to the late former first lady, Stella Obasanjo, was sentenced for forgery after being arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

An oil company, Statoil Nigeria Limited had on June 22, 2010, accused Abebe of forging parts of a Net Profit Interest Agreement (NPIA) dated November 30, 1995, which was drafted by British Petroleum (BP).

The EFCC, in the charges, claimed that Abebe “knowingly forged” a November 30, 1995 letter written by BP Exploration Nigeria Limited to Inducon Limited.

The anti-graft agency claimed that the businessman “illegally inserted” into page 2 of the said letter “the following statement: “Also note that the ‘Buy-Out Option’ only applies to the pre-production stage of the NPIA. The $4m buy-out is thus irrelevant from production of oil in any of our fields.”

According to the EFCC, Abebe also attempted to “pervert the course of justice” by tendering the allegedly forged November 30, 1995 letter “as a fabricated evidence” in court, in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/224/2010 between Dr. John Abebe, Inducon Nigeria Limited and Statoil Nigeria Limited.

The trial judge, Justice Mojisola Dada handed the judgement after it was established that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and convicted him accordingly.

KanyiDaily had also reported that the EFCC arraigned a manager with Cubana Group, Lucky Uchechukwu Ndukwe for alleged $164,000 money laundering.