Alleged Theft of 25m Litres of PMS: EFCC Presents Second Witness Against Vessel, Captain, Others 

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, April 14 presented its second prosecution witness, PW2, in the ongoing trial of a vessel, MT Ostria, and three others over an alleged theft of 25,354,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC Retail Limited, before Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos.

The defendants, MT Ostria, Captain Raymundo A. Panaligam, Chief Officer Roneno Villarin and Vincent Wayas, were arraigned by the EFCC on October 29, 2025, on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy and stealing, an offence contrary to Sections 411 and 280, and punishable under Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, the witness, who is a representative of NNPC, testified on the transactions involving MT Ostria and the events that led to the EFCC’s investigation.

Led in evidence by the prosecution witness, Bilikisu Buhari, the PW2 told the court that operational concerns arose when D. Torros Shipping Limited, the receiving terminal, called for a suspension of discharge activities.

“From our operational perspective, we were worried about any delay that could cause additional cost on the operation. We were informed by Torros that the suspension was due to variations in quantities between the ship’s discharge figure and Torros’ received figure,” he said.

He also stated that upon raising the alarm, Torros notified the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, of the discrepancy.

According to him, the NMDPRA escalated the matter to relevant government agencies, including the Department of State Services, DSS.

The witness, who said Torros also reported the case to the EFCC, further stated that “I was invited by the EFCC. I was interviewed and I wrote a statement regarding the transaction at the time. We also submitted some documents to the EFCC with respect to the operation,”.

He confirmed that the documents were generated using his company’s laptop and printer, which were in good condition at the time.

The prosecution counsel, Buhari , tendered the documents, and they were admitted in evidence by the court.

Explaining the relationship between the NNPC subsidiaries, the witness said there was an internal framework governing transactions among NNPC Retail, NNPC Trading, and NNPC Shipping.

Referring to Exhibit P4, the Credit Sales Invoice issued to NNPC Retail Limited, he identified NNPC Retail as “the ultimate owner of the petroleum products allegedly stolen.”

The document, he noted, confirmed receipt and was signed by NNPC Trading for the sale of about 20.3 million litres of PMS through MT Ostria, which was the vessel nominated by NNPC Retail from the mother vessel, MT Northern Light.

“This document was issued as part of the NNPC Retail and Trading agreement framework, which requires that requests for product or cargo be made through a company portal where sales quotations are generated.

“This Credit Sales Invoice carries two sales quotation numbers also called PFI (Pro Forma Invoice) numbers: 20001584 and 20001601. These numbers are to be indicated on the commercial documents relating to this operation.”

He added that the documents established the commercial chain of the transaction and showed NNPC Retail Limited as the buyer of the cargo, in line with the companies’ internal framework.

Justice Dada adjourned the matter till Wednesday, April 15, 2026 for continuation of cross- examination.