The Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos has upheld the conviction and sentence of nine foreigners for stealing 3,423.097 metric tonnes of crude oil from Nigeria.
Justice Frederick Oho who read the judgment on Monday agreed with the submissions of the EFCC Counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo and held that the appeal of the foreigners lacked merit and subsequently dismissed it.
Other justices of the Appeal Panel were Justice Hussein Mukhtar and Justice Mohammed Shuaib.
All three upheld the judgment of Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court, Lagos.
The Federal High Court had convicted the foreigners; five Filipinos and four Bangladeshi nationals to a jail term of five years each, on the four charges against them with an option of a five million Naira fine for each count.
Their vessel, Mt Asteris, and its crew were intercepted by the Nigerian Navy Ship, Beecroft, during a routine patrol in Lagos in March 2015 while trying to export the stolen product.
