One Nigerian billionaire, Abdulrahman Bashar, don jam wahala as Dubai court sentence am to one-year imprisonment for financial crime wey involve CI Energy Company, one oil and gas firm.

 UAE court find Bashar—wey be owner of Rahmaniya Group and Ultimate Oil & Gas—guilty of issuing seven cheques wey worth 126.45 million dirhams from him Emirates Islamic Bank account. Di court talk say di signatures no match, and e be like say e do am intentionally.

According to court documents wey Premium Times get, di businessman sign di cheques in a way wey make dem no fit cash am.

Bashar, wey be 48 years old, refuse show face for court despite say dem notify am many times. But di prosecution still present strong evidence, including:

• Statements from Jamal Awad Nasser Hussein, wey be agent of CI Energy

• Duplicates of di cheques

• Bank account statements

On January 30, 2025, di court talk say di crime don already happen as soon as di cheques enter beneficiary hand, knowing say di money no dey or e get wahala wey go make e bounce.

Di judge, Hussein Hamdi, talk say Bashar dey deny di matter just to dodge punishment.

To fast-track justice, di court don carry di civil case wey prosecution file for compensation go another court wey go handle am well.

According to di website of him company, Abdulrahman Bashar na di chairman of Ultimate Oil and Gas DMCC and MD/CEO of Rahmaniya Group of Companies for Nigeria. Him business dey across Africa, Europe, South Asia, and Middle East, and e specialize for oil and gas exploration, marketing, and distribution.

Now, instead of big business deals, na Dubai prison go be him new office for di next one year.