A Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa, Balyesa State has convicted three Indian nationals, Sailesh Kumar Singh, (Captain of the vessel), Chadrashekar Sharma and Ajay Bhatiya, the owner of the vessel, MT Akshay, (who is still at large) to fifteen years imprisonment for offenses that borders on oil theft.
The convicts were among twelve suspected oil thieves ― including eight other Indians, one Ghanaian and a Nigerian ― arrested aboard MT Akshay by men of the Joint Task Force, Central Naval Command, Yenegoa in November 2012. They had been handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further investigation and prosecution.
The accused were arraigned on a two-count charge on 22nd January 2013 before Justice Lambo Akanbi. After diligent prosecution, the court found the accused persons alongside the owner of the vessel (who is still at large) guilty on count one, bordering on conspiracy. They were convicted accordingly.
Other accused persons ― Dharmaraj Kumar, Ajay Kumar, Nimesh Kodi Parambil, Ashraf Ali, Sanjeev Kumar, Sarbjot Singh, Arvind Kumar Bhardwaj, Gagan Kumar, Dele Johnson Olayemi and Benneth Egbegi ― were discharged and acquitted on the two counts preferred against them by the EFCC.
The court was silent on the vessel, and it’s content.
The charges preferred against the accused are excerpted below:
Count one: “That you, Sailesh Kumar Singh, Chadrashekar Sharma, Dharmaraj Kumar, Ajay Kumar, Nimesh Kodi Parambil, Ashraf,Ali, Sanjeev Kumar, Sarbjot Singh, Arvind Kumar Bhaedwaj, Gagan Kumar, Dele Johnson Olayemi and Benneth Egbegi being crew members in MT Akshay with Ajay Bhatiya (now at large) on or about the 25th day of November, 2012 in Brass, Bayelsa State within the Jurisdiction of this honourable Court did conspire among yourselves to commit felony to wit dealing in Petroleum Product and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 3(6) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act CAP M17 of the Revised Edition(Laws of the Federation of Nigeria) 2007 and punishable under Section 1(17) of the same Act.
Count two: “That Sailesh Kumar Singh, Chadrashekar Sharma, Dharmaraj Kumar, Ajay Kumar, Nimesh Kodi Parambil, Ashraf Ali, Sanjeev Kumar, Sarbjot Singh, Arvind Kumar Bhaedwaj, Gagan Kumar, Dele Johnson Olayemi and Benneth Egbegi being crew members in MT Akshay with Ajay Bhatiya (now at large) on or about the 25th day of November, 2012 in Brass, Bayelsa State within the Jurisdiction of this honourable Court did without authority deal in 157,822 litres of Crude Oil bunkered from Auntie the Matriach Julie Rig of Conoil Nigeria Plc into MT Akshay and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(17)(a) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act CAP M17 of the Revised Edition (Laws of the Federation of Nigeria) 2007 and punishment under Section 1(17) of the same Act.”
