A Lagos court has sentenced Mamman Nasir Ali, son of a former PDP leader, and Christian Taylor from Sierra Leone to 14 years in jail each. They were found guilty of stealing N2.2 billion through Nigeria’s oil subsidy program.

The court also punished an oil company called Nasaman Oil Services Limited, which was involved in the scam. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) charged them with 57 crimes, including forgery and using fake documents.

The case began in 2012 when they were first accused of conspiracy to steal money by using false claims. According to the EFCC, these actions broke several laws designed to stop fraud and corruption.

The fraud happened around September 2011, when the suspects took money illegally from the government’s petroleum subsidy funds. They also submitted fake reports, like a false gasoline test certificate.

The judge said the evidence against the accused was strong. She explained that their actions hurt the government’s trust in the oil subsidy program, which is important for many Nigerians.

Besides jail time, the court ordered that all money and property related to the fraud be taken away from them. Two other suspects in the case, Oluwaseun Ogunbambo and Olabisi Abdul Afeez, are still missing and the police have been asked to arrest them.

This judgment sends a strong message that oil subsidy fraud will not be tolerated and those who break the law will be punished.