[Mhiz Rebecca]

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission on Monday morning picked up the
President of Masters Energy Oil and Gas Limited,
Mr. Uche Ogah, outside the premises of a Lagos
State Magistrates’ Court in Tinubu, Lagos Island.
Ogah was arrested soon as he stepped out the
court premises after the forgery charges filed
against him by the police were withdrawn.
Ogah, who was declared winner of the last
governorship election in Abia State by Justice Okon
Abang of a Federal High Court in Abuja on June 27,
had on June 16 been arraigned by the police for
alleged forgery.
But the police on Monday morning withdrew the
charges.
When the case was called, the police prosecutor,
Henry Obiazi, told the presiding magistrate, Mrs.
Kikelomo Ayeye, that he had the instruction of the
Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to
withdraw the charges against Ogah and his co-
defendants.
“I am instructed by the IGP to withdraw this case,
as the issue is pending with the SFU,” Obiazi said.
The charges were consequently struck out by the
court.
But as soon as Ogah stepped out of the court
premises, he was arrested by the waiting EFCC
operatives who drove him away in his own car.
A source at the EFCC said the commission had
received a petition from the complainant in the case
against Ogah.
The source said Ogah was being interrogated,
adding that others would also be invited.
Ogah was, however, released on Monday evening
after hours of questioning by the EFCC.
Ogah’s lawyer, Mr. Monday Ubani, disclosed this in
a statement.
Ubani said the EFCC released his client after
discovering that the petition against him had no
substance.
He said, “At the EFCC office, we were confronted
with a petition written by the same Mrs. Bridget
Adeosun, who coincidentally is also the
complainant in the forgery charge that was earlier
struck out by the magistrate court.
“We presented the same submission we made
before the police to the EFCC which is that the
subject matter in the forgery allegation bothers on a
pure business transaction which my client had with
Adeosun. We showed the commission’s officials
documents about the business transaction and
agreements reached by parties in the business. The
EFCC investigators were shocked that these
documents were never given to them where she
received her payments.
“After reviewing our presentation, the EFCC officials
asked my client to go home and come back
another day to have interview with the petitioner.”
The other defendants in the charge which the police
withdrew against Ogah were his company, Masters
Energy Oil and Gas Limited and an ex-employee of
United Bank for Africa, Deji Somoye.
The defendants were accused of conspiring with
some persons still at large to forge a Memorandum
of Understanding between Masters Energy Oil and
Gas Limited and Mut-Hass Petroleum Limited
sometime in March 2011.
Ogah and some other persons still at large were
alleged to have forged the signature of Adeosun.
The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty after
which they were admitted to bail in the sum of
N200,000 each with one surety each in like sum.
But the case was struck out on Monday.