Mohammed Adoke, former attorney-general of the federation (AGF), has written a letter to Abubakar Malami, minister of justice, maintaining his innocence in the controversial Malabu oil deal.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has alleged that Adoke exchanged more than $2.2 million in a bureau de change in Abuja as part of his own share, an allegation he denied.
Adoke wondered why the anti-graft agency singled him out for prosecution when he did not commit any illegality.
He said at least three presidents were involved in the deal, and that apart from Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan have not denied scrutinising the terms of settlement in the deal.
Adoke said he was being vilified for choosing to serve his fatherland.
“I anxiously want to know where I went wrong that I have been singled out by the EFCC for prosecution,” he wrote.
“I also want to know the effect of section 5 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended with respect to the vesting of all the executive powers of the federation in the president to exercise by himself and or through his ministers and appointees.
“What is the effect of section 5 of the constitution on persons who act pursuant to lawful Presidential approvals? This is more so as two out of the three presidents that had the opportunity to scrutinise this settlement (Presidents Obasanjo and Jonathan) are alive. Have they disowned the settlement? Has our predecessor in office, Chief Bayo Ojo, SAN distanced himself from the settlement he brokered?
“Have the honourable ministers of petroleum resources and finance at the time of implementation of the settlement (Mrs Diezani Allison-Madueke, CON and Dr. Olusegun Aganga, respectively) disowned the settlement or their signatures? It is my respectful view that Nigerians deserve answers to these questions as it will help them and my humble self to understand the actions and the machinations of the EFCC masquerading to be acting in the national interest while surreptitiously deploying state resources and machinery to promote the personal agenda of their cohorts.”
Adoke appealed to Malami to ensure that state institutions are not hijacked and used as a tool for vendetta.
He also said he was ready to face justice if anything incriminating is found on him.
“I wish to use this medium to appeal to the honourable attorney-general of the federation to be mindful of his overarching powers over public prosecution and the need to ensure that state institutions do not become persecutors or instruments in the hands of those pursing personal vendetta,” he said.
“The constitution and the traditions of our noble profession demand your oversight over public prosecution.
“Consequently, if you find that I had breached my oath of office or abused my office, please do not hesitate to bring me to justice.
“However, if it is the contrary, as I strongly believe, that certain individuals who had vowed to even scores with me are now being aided by state institutions such as the EFCC; I deserve protection from these unwarranted attacks and dehumanising treatment that I am being subjected to merely because I chose to serve my fatherland.”
Pricewaterhouse Coopers, PwC Nigeria and former Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Mohammed Bello Adoke have allegedly been fingered in a shady deal associated with the August 1, 2016 modified reconcession agreement of Ajaokuta Steel Company of Nigeria, ASCN.
On August 1, 2016, the Federal Government signed a modify reconcession agreement with an Indian firm, Global Infrastructure Nigeria Limited, GINL which led to Nigeria reclaiming the ASCN and the National Iron Ore Mining Company, NIOMCO, Itakpe which had earlier been concessioned to GINL.
However, the August 1, signing ceremony appeared to be a flash in the pan as Nigerians were made to believe what happened then was nothing but the truth.
Barrister Natasha Hadiza Akpoti alleged in an open letter to Nigerians dated 31 December 2016, and titled “Corrupt Practices Surrounding Ajaokuta and Itakpe” disclosed that the country had a good chance to reclaim both ASCN and NIOMCO, Itakpe base on unequivocal evidence but that the activities of one ‘Alhaji’, PwC and Adoke has made it impossible.
She explained the Minister of Steel and Solid Mineral, Dr. Kayode Fayemi lied to President Buhari and Nigerians that the country had no evidence against GINL in the London Court of Arbitration.
She stated that Fayemi told Nigerians that “Nigeria already agreed that we were liable to pay somewhere in the region of $500 to $700m to GINL as estimated by BPE etc…”, and since Nigeria couldn’t afford that, it was agreed to give Itakpe back to the GINL in compensation for 7 years.
In her words: “Like Halliburton and Malabu oil scandals, Ajaokuta and Itakpe suffered greatly in the hands of Adoke who happens to be a son of Itakpe.
“One would have expected utmost care in executing his duties as the then Attorney General of Nigeria and lead representative of Nigeria at the Arbitration proceedings instituted in the London Court of International Arbitration by the GINL against Nigeria on the termination of Ajaokuta and Itakpe concessions by the late President Yar’Adua administration. But, he betrayed Nigeria. How?
“Nigeria had a very good chance of winning the arbitration case against the Indians as there were tons of evidence mainly from Inuwa Magaji’s report amongst others.
“GINL feared the anticipated lose and engaged Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) to help them “work” victory out through Nigeria’s corridors of power. PWC approached ‘Alhaji’ who was a close ally to Vice President Namadi Sambo. ‘Alhaji’ “discussed” with Adoke, spent a lot of money and a deal was struck.
“Adoke sought an approval from President Jonathan for an out of court settlement. This ended the arbitration in London court and started the mediation process supervised by Mr. Philip Howell Richardson. The first mediation meeting was in London on the 15th February 2013.
“A presidential committee was set up comprising of the V.P’s office, BPE, AGF, amongst others headed by the then Permanent Secretary Min. of Mines and Steel, Mrs. E.B.P. Emurem.”
She explained that the presidential ‘Kangaroo’ committee indicted Late President Yar’Adua of terminating the Ajaokuta and Itakpe concessions with GINL and estimated damages totally $525 million payable to GINL
She added that the committee then arrived at a decision to compensate GINL with 7 years of Itakpe Iron Ore since Nigeria had no such money to pay, noting that Adoke got a presidential approval to execute this “modified fraudulent re-concession agreement” on the 7th of January 2015 but failed in executing it because the then Minister of Mines and Steel Arch. Sada refused to be a part of the fraud.
Unfortunately, Fayemi executed the same contract Adoke drafted even replicated the exact same grammatical errors contained in the Adoke’s contract.
“At the August 1st signing ceremony, Fayemi said there would be a joint forensic audit of the concessions and this is to be supervised by one of the top global four consultants which was PwC.
“Yes. Fayemi engaged PwC to supervise GINL’s concession, the same consultants that GINL engaged in 2012 to help pull strong strings to save GINL from losing totally.
GINL Belongs to ‘Alhaji’
Meanwhile, Natasha claims that the owner of GINL, not the famous Pramod Mittal but one ‘Alhaji’ who contacted her for a peace talk.
“He is an ‘Alhaji’ quite prominent in the circles of power especially during the Jonathan’s administration. This wasn’t his first time contacting me. He first called me up on the 12th of August after my Channel’s interview, then on 16th and 18th August 2016. I met with him on these 3 August dates but didn’t oblige his 26th December’s call. From my interactions with him I deduced the following facts:
“The pseudo partnerships of GINL- – GINL is no longer owned by Pramod Mittal. Pramod Mittal’s presence at the 1st August 2016 NIOMCO Itakpe’s re-concession was just part of the keeping – up – appearances-to –deceive Nigerians agreement between Pramod and ‘Alhaji’ who is the present owner of GINL. This ‘Alhaji’ has no expertise in operating mines. He is also not evidentially linked to GINL as most documents still bear Pramod Mittal to deceive Nigerians.
“Now that GINL has gotten NIOMCO, Itakpe back, they want to acquire Ajaokuta Steel complex too. ‘Alhaji’ asked that I connect them with TyazhPromExport (TPE for short, the original builders of the plant from Soviet Russia) as technical partners to facilitate their acquisition of Ajaokuta under a NEW NAME that would not connect the Nigerian public to GINL.
“Alhaji said he opted for Russia despite him being extremely connected to China (he is the chair of China’s largest construction firm in Nigeria) because he believe only the original builders will do sincere justice to Ajaokuta Steel mill but if I refused to bring them on board, he would go ahead to acquire Ajaokuta using his Chinese partners. I turned that down because I didn’t want to be a party to any deceptive “underground” arrangements and manipulations,” she claims.
A former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, who evaded arrest in Nigeria was recently released from a London prison where he served term for money laundering. Mr. Ibori had escaped to Dubai to avoid being arrested in Nigeria. He was, however extradited to the UK from the UAE, at the request of British authorities.
Like Mr. Ibori, there are other former Nigerian political office holders who have fled the country to avoid arrests and potential prosecutions for corruption.
PREMIUM TIMES reviews some of these persons, most ex-public officials, who served in the Goodluck Jonathan administration.
These include ex-ministers, aides and associates of Mr. Jonathan
They left the country under different pretences, ranging from the need for medical care to pursuit of higher education abroad.
DIEZANI ALISON-MADUEKE
Diezani Alison-Madueke held the position of petroleum minister under Mr. Jonathan. She was one of the most powerful public officials in the administration.
A former director at Shell, Mrs. Alison-Madueke was first appointed into the federal cabinet in 2007 as Minister of Transport by late President Umaru Yar’Adua. In December 2008, she was redeployed to the Mines and Steel Development ministry. After former Vice President Goodluck Jonathan became acting president, Mrs. Alison-Madueke was appointed Nigeria’s first female petroleum minister in February 2010, a position she held till May 29, 2015 when Mr. Jonathan left office. Mrs. Alison-Madueke’s tenure as petroleum minister turned out one of Nigeria’s most controversial, amidst unending allegations of corruption.
Diezani Alison-Madueke
Corruption allegations: Under her watch, probes by independent audit firms, including the KPMG, confirmed billions of Naira of oil money was mismanaged. The then Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Lamido Sanusi, alleged in 2014 that the missing money was about $20 billion.
Also, long before her time superintending the oil and gas sector, Mrs. Alison-Madueke was investigated by the Nigerian Senate on allegation she irregularly paid N30.9 billion to contractors as transport minister. In 2009, the Senate also indicted Mrs. Alison-Madueke and recommended her for prosecution for allegedly transferring N1.2 billion into a private account of a toll company without due process. The former minister consistently denied any wrongdoing.
She is also enmeshed in various scandals surrounding the sale or lease of Nigeria’s oil blocks.
Former President, Goodluck Jonathan
In October last year, she was arrested in London along with others by the UK National Crime Agency. A few hours after her arrest, Nigeria’s EFCC operatives raided her Abuja home, located in the Asokoro district of the federal capital city, and sealed the property, after they reportedly recovered expensive jewelleries and other items from the building.
Mrs. Alison-Madueke is believed to be in the United Kingdom where in 2015 she received treatment for cancer.
Accomplices: Two separate intelligence reports identified one Donald Chidi Amamgbo as a key figure in Mrs. Alison-Madueke’s alleged money laundering activities. Another of her close business ally, Jide Omokore, is already being tried for corruption by the EFCC.
Other businessmen like Kola Aluko, Kolawale Akane and Walter Wagbatsoma were also named as close collaborators in the former minister’s suspected web of illicit financial activities. The former minister’s mother, Beatrice Agama; her son, Ugonna Madueke; and a Swiss, Melanie Spencer, were also among people she was arrested with in the UK.
MOHAMMED BELLO ADOKE
Mohammed Adoke is Nigeria’s immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, he was appointed into the office on April 6, 2010, when the then Acting President Goodluck Jonathan announced a new cabinet.
As the chief law officer of the country, he wielded enormous powers,especially because he had supervisory control over prominent law enforcement agencies such as the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
Mr. Adoke was one of the first set of top officials in the Jonathan administration to flee the country a few days after President Muhammadu Buhari took over on May 29, 2015.
Bello Adoke
Supposed hideout: Mr. Adoke has stated that he left Nigeria for the Netherlands to pursue a law programme at the prestigious Leiden University.
Corruption Charges: Mr. Adoke has been fingered in at least three major multi-billion dollar deals. They include the $1.1 billion Malabu oil payment deal; $2.1 billion arms fund diversion and recently, the alleged diversion of $1.6 billion local government judgment fund.
The EFCC filed charges of money laundering and fraud against Mr. Adoke and others on December 20 at the Federal High Court, Abuja, in respect of the Malabu oil deal at the centre of which is Dan Etete, a former minister of petroleum under the late Sani Abacha. Mr. Adoke, however, responded to the charges by pledging to make himself available for trial.
Alleged accomplices: Former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, and former petroleum minister, Dan Etete.
KINGSLEY KUKU
Kingsley Kuku was Special Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta Affairs. He was also the Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme. He was one of those who left the country soon after President Buhari took over.
Mr. Kuku is suspected to be in the U.S. He has, however, insisted that he only travelled to on medical grounds.
Kingsley Kuku
The EFCC in July 2015 summoned Mr. Kuku for questioning over alleged embezzlement and fraudulent diversion of funds running into hundreds of millions of Naira in the Amnesty Office. Mr. Kuku was asked to appear before the EFCC on July 28, 2015 but requested to be allowed to honour the invitation on September 30, 2015. A letter by Mr. Kuku’s lawyers to the EFCC said the former presidential aide was undergoing surgery on one of his knees. He has, however, continued to seek protection from the courts and has since been at large.
In his defence, Mr. Kuku alleged that investigation by the anti-graft agency into the amnesty funds was a calculated attempt to smear his name. Speaking through his media aide, Yemi Akintomide, in Akure, Mr. Kuku said the EFCC was too much in a hurry to nail him on corruption charges through media trial, even when he had not appeared before the agency’s investigators.
Alleged accomplices: Henry Ugbolue and Lawrence Pepple, both former aides to Mr. Kuku.
GOVERNMENT EKPEMUPOLO (Tompolo)
Government Ekpemupolo is a former militant commander of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND. For years, Tompolo joined forces with various guerrilla groups in the Niger Delta agitating against the alleged exploitation and degradation of the oil-rich region by the Federal Government and international oil companies.
He, however, embraced the amnesty programme on October 4, 2009, to allow for peace, and for the government and the oil companies to carry out development projects in the region. Though not a public office holder under the Jonathan administration, he wielded enormous powers and influence as one of the power brokers in that administration.
Corruption Charges: According to the EFCC which has since declared him wanted, the 47-year-old Tompolo is wanted in a case of conspiracy and illegal diversion of the sum of N34, 000,000,000 (Thirty Four Billion Naira) belonging to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA.
Tompolo
Photo: DailyPost.ng
The former DG of NIMASA, Patrick Akpobolokemi, who was said to have been nominated for the office by Tompolo, is already being prosecuted for his alleged role in the scam.
Tompolo has denied involvement in the N34 billion fraud. The denial was contained in one of his many recent open letters to President Buhari from his hideout.
“The truth of the matter is that I do not know anything about the 34 billion naira EFCC is talking about. First, it was 13-billion naira (N13bn) issue, now it is 34 billion naira (N34bn). I am not a signatory to any of the companies mentioned in the said N34bn case, so I do not know where this one is coming from”, he said in one of the letters.
Alleged Accomplices: Mr. Akpobolokemi and his six brothers.
They are Igo Akpobolokemi, Julius Akpobolokemi, Victor Akpobolokemi, Norbert Akpobolokemi, Emmanuel Akpobolokemi and Clement Akpobolokemi. Companies listed in the charge by the EFCC are Mieka Dive Training Institute Ltd/GTE, Oyeinteke Global Network Ltd, Wabod Global Resources Ltd, Boloboere Properties Estate Ltd, Gokaid Marine Oil and Gas Ltd and Watershed Associated Resources.
They were however declared as being “now at large” when the charges were read.
ABDULRASHEED ABDULLAHI MAINA
Abdulrasheed Maina, a former Chairman of Pension Reform Task Team, was a close ally of Mr. Jonathan. He is wanted by the EFCC for offences bordering on procurement fraud and obtaining by false pretence.
The EFCC on November 18, 2015 wrote the Inspector-General of Police for assistance to get the INTERPOL to issue a world-wide alert on Mr. Maina. In response, the Commissioner of Police in charge of INTERPOL, Olusola Subair, stated that the INTERPOL had placed a red alert on the fugitive at its general secretariat in Lyon, France. Meanwhile, the EFCC is of the view that Mr. Maina might be hiding at the United Arab Emirates.
Abdulrasheed Maina, Former Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team
According to information on the EFCC website, Mr. Maina is allegedly complicit in the over N2 billion Pensions Biometric scam in the office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation. He remains at large, after charges were filed against his alleged accomplices, including a former Head of Service of the Federation, Steve Orosanye.
Speaking from hiding through his lawyer, Olajide Olaoye, Mr. Maina disputed the fact that he is wanted by the EFCC for any crime. However, as at press time, his picture and details are still on EFCC website as one of its wanted suspects.
Alleged Accomplices: Steve Orosanye, former Head of Civil Service; Osarenkhoe Afe; Federick Hamilton Global Services Limited, Cluster Logistic Limited; Kangolo Dynamic Cleaning Limited; and Drew Investment& Construction Company Limited.
BELLO FADILE
Bello Fadile is a retired colonel of the Nigerian Army. He was a close confidant of former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, and a Director of Special Duties in the office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA under Mr. Dasuki.
Bello Fadile
Mr. Fadile is being investigated for his alleged role in the $2.1 billion arms scandal for which various persons close to Mr. Jonathan and the PDP have either been arrested or are being prosecuted.
Messrs. Dasuki and Fadile were placed under house arrest by the State Security Service, DSS, in July 2015 after which Mr. Dasuki was arrested and still remains in the custody of the SSS despite several court orders.
Mr. Fadile’s whereabouts is unknown but he is said to be currently in the U.S.
Alleged accomplice: Former NSA boss, Sambo Dasuki.
LAWYERS REACT
Two legal practitioners spoke with PREMIUM TIMES on how the suspects can be treated by the Nigerian government.
“There is nothing wrong with our legal system which comprises various institutions and laws to effectively fight corruption, especially economic crimes.,” a lawyer, Akunne Nzube, said.
“But these laws are not effectively interpreted and implemented by the requisite institutions, including the judiciary. This deficiency is apparent in the James Ibori’s trial here in Nigeria, which ended in an acquittal and his subsequent conviction in the UK.
Former NSA Sambo Dasuki and others arraigned over misappropriation at the FCT High Court in Abuja
“The renewed enthusiasm of this present administration to restore these institutions to combat graft effectively is being hampered by the difficulties in getting the suspects extradited to face trial.”
The activist said although he sees “nothing wrong with our anti-graft laws and institutions, save for issue of inefficiency.
“But in the circumstance, I’m constrained to make the following suggestions to aid this present administration in the fight against corruption: The Legal authorities should consider alternatives like using immigration laws in foreign countries to have fugitives deported as illegal immigrant.
“They can also try whether civil legal action could be taken to sue former officials hiding overseas. Nigeria must either reform the existing institutions (including the agencies and the courts) fighting corruption for efficient and effective results or establish an emergency expeditious corruption trial bill and laws and special anti-graft courts.”
Another lawyer, Frank Obi, expressed a contrary view saying the suspects remained innocent until declared guilty by a court.
“An accused person should be presumed innocent until otherwise declared by a court of competent jurisdiction.
“The duty of the prosecutor is to prosecute and not to persecute. I suggest the judiciary be allowed to perform its role quietly without undue interference,” he said.
Mohammed Adoke, former attorney-general of the federation (AGF), says he will defend himself against the allegations of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over his alleged role in the Malabu oil scam.
Adoke is accused of receiving over $800 million from the federation account as his benefit from the deal.
But in a statement, Adoke said the money laundering charge preferred against him by the EFCC was an attempt to “bring me to public disrepute in order to satisfy the whims and caprices of some powerful interests on revenge mission”.
He said he acted on the authority of former President Goodluck Jonathan to broker a settlement between Malabu Oil & Gas Limited and Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited.
“My attention has been drawn to the charges filed by the EFCC against me and other named individuals and companies in respect of OPL 245 Settlement Agreement involving Malabu Oil & Gas Limited and Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited,” he said.
“I wish to reiterate that I acted within the actual and ostensible authority of the office I occupied to broker a settlement between Malabu Oil & Gas Limited and Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited in order to ward off the over US$2 Billion Dollars liability in damages for breach of contract which the country would have been exposed to in the likely event of the success of Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited’s claim before the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
“The terms of settlement ensured that the interests of the federal government of Nigeria, Malabu Oil & Gas Limited and Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited were duly acknowledged and provided for in the settlement agreement.
“The federal government of Nigeria was entitled to the signature bonus which was duly paid; Malabu Oil & Gas Limited surrendered its title to OPL 245 for a consideration and Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited was re-allocated OPL 245 which its had previously substantially de-risked in consideration for withdrawing their over US$ 2 billion dollars claim for breach of contract against the federal government of Nigeria.
“Since the parties aforementioned, faithfully discharged their respective obligations under the settlement agreement, one cannot comprehend how the office of the attorney-general of the federation which brokered the settlement was expected to renege from the agreement by denying Malabu Oil & Gas Limited the benefits associated with the relinquishing of their title to OPL 245 already warehoused in a joint FGN/Shell Escrow account, or to prevent the subsequent re-allocation of the relinquished OPL 245 to Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited when the company had already furnished consideration for it to the Federal Government of Nigeria.”
He denied benefiting from the settlement agreement between Malabu Oil & Gas Limited and Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited in OPL 245.
“I did not take any benefit from it, I had requisite approvals from the president and commander in chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to broker the settlement and execute the OPL 245 settlement agreement,” he said.
“I am therefore unable to rationalise the charge of aiding the commission of money laundering offences preferred against me by the EFCC. But be that as it may, I hope to at the appropriate time make myself available to defend the charge for what whatever its worth.”
A former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), yesterday faulted the charge of alleged involvement in a $1.6billion Malabu Oil deal against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He said although the charge was irrational, he was prepared to make himself available to defend it at the appropriate time.
He said he did not benefit in any way from the auctioning of Oil Prospecting Licence 245(OPL 245), popularly referred to as Malabu Oil Block.
Adoke, in a statement, said he got requisite approvals from the former President Goodluck Jonathan to broker the settlement and execute the OPL 245 Settlement Agreement.
The statement reads: “My attention has been drawn to the charges filed by the EFCC against me and other named individuals and companies in respect of OPL 245 Settlement Agreement involving Malabu Oil & Gas Limited and Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited.
“The charge of aiding the commission of money laundering offences preferred against me has finally confirmed the orchestrated plans to bring me to public disrepute in order to satisfy the whims and caprices of some powerful interests on revenge mission.
“I wish to reiterate that I acted within the actual and ostensible authority of the office I occupied to broker a settlement between Malabu Oil & Gas Limited and Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited in order to ward off the over $2billion liability in damages for breach of contract which the country would have been exposed to in the likely event of the success of Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited’s claim before the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
“The Terms of Settlement ensured that the interests of the Federal Government of Nigeria, Malabu Oil & Gas Limited and Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited were duly acknowledged and provided for in the Settlement Agreement.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria was entitled to the Signature bonus which was duly paid; Malabu Oil & Gas Limited surrendered its title to OPL 245 for a consideration and Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited was re-allocated OPL 245 which it had previously substantially de-risked in consideration for withdrawing their over US$ 2billion claim for breach of contract against the Federal Government of Nigeria.”
Adoke gave more insights into why the Jonathan administration executed the Settlement Agreement.
He added: “Since the Parties aforementioned, faithfully discharged their respective obligations under the Settlement Agreement, one cannot comprehend how the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation which brokered the Settlement was expected to renege from the agreement by denying Malabu Oil & Gas Limited the benefits associated with the relinquishing of their title to OPL 245 already warehoused in a joint FGN/Shell Escrow account, or to prevent the subsequent re-allocation of the relinquished OPL 245 to Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited when the company had already furnished consideration for it to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“I am of the respectful view that it should be clear to any person dispassionately reviewing the transaction to confirm that I had no personal interest in the transaction; I did not take any benefit from it, I had requisite approvals from the President and Commander in Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to broker the settlement and execute the OPL 245 Settlement Agreement.
“I am therefore unable to rationalise the charge of aiding the commission of money laundering offences preferred against me by the EFCC. But be that as it may, I hope to at the appropriate time make myself available to defend the charges for what whatever its worth.”
The anti-graft EFCC has filed fraud charges against Nigeria’s former Attorney-General, Mohammed Adoke; a former petroleum minister, Dan Etete; and a controversial businessman, Abubakar Aliyu, and others for their roles in the ?Malabu $1.1 billion shady deal.
The 9-count charge was filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja on Tuesday, sources at the EFCC told PREMIUM TIMES.
PREMIUM TIMES had reported how Mr. Adoke and former finance minister , Yerima Ngama, approved the transfer of about $1.1 billion into Nigerian accounts controlled by Mr. Etete.
Dan Etete
The money was paid by oil giants, Shell and ENI, ?into a federal government account, for OPL 245, considered the richest oil bloc in Africa.
After the transfer to Mr. Etete, over half of the money was paid to accounts of shady companie?s controlled by Mr. Aliyu.
Although Mr. Adoke has repeatedly claimed he did no wrong, investigations by authorities in Nigeria, UK, and Italy have found him culpable in the scandal.
The minister of justice and attorney-general of the federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), yesterday said there was insufficient evidence to convict his predecessor, Mohammed Adoke, former minister of petroleum resources, Mrs Diezani Alison- Madueke, and former finance minister, Olusegun Aganga, over the scandalous $1.092 billion Malabu oil deal.
He however declared as fraudulent the payment of $1.092 billion in the Malabu oil deal into an escrow account at JP Morgan, London, by the former ministers, saying the money ought to have been paid into the Federation Account or the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
The AGF, made these comments yesterday, before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the alleged corruption, malpractices and breach of due process in the award of oil prospecting Licence OPL 245.
He said investigation into the allegations were still ongoing; thus he could not determine whether or not there would be any convictions.
“I don’t have any aggression as far as prosecution is concerned. I can’t, with certainty, jump into the conclusion of indictment. We need to first identify what laws were broken, which will determine what line of investigation we are to pursue.
“What I’m saying in essence is, we are at the stage of investigation and, indeed, even those that are presumably considered to play a role are equally being given an opportunity to make presentations. The investigation is from different perspectives – because of criminality, breach of contract and associated elements,” Malami stated.
The AGF also informed the ad hoc committee that his predecessor, Mohammed Adoke, had not made himself available for investigation but that he had made a written submission to the Ministry of Justice.
“And I invited in that process, my predecessor in office, amongst others. Even though the investigation points to directions that require of him to say a word, he has not made himself available successfully even though written correspondence has been received from him in that respect and direction.
“Honestly I cannot say with precision that we have arrived at a point whereby we have to prosecute. But what we are doing, within the context of investigations, is to see what we can do without ruling out the possibility of prosecution, without ruling out the possibility of revisiting what has been done, and then without ruling out whatever eventually that may come, in terms of doing justice to what obtains as far as OPL 245 is at stake. So, that is the position; we’re at the point of investigation,” the AGF said.
On the way forward, Malami declared that the problem of the country is non-compliance with, or disobedience to laws. He promised the committee that anyone indicted in the Malabu Oil deal would be dealt with dispassionately, no matter the person’s standing in the society.
“We should review the report and see what laws have been provided and breached. It should never be about sentiment, but obedience or compliance to the law in relation to the operations of OPL 245.
“It is not about emotions, or personal interest. It is about obedience and enforcement of the law. It should never be about an individual but about procedure as far as operations of OPL 245 are concerned,” he added.
Recently, a coalition of anti-corruption civil society bodies petitioned the EFCC that the erstwhile Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr Muhaamed Bello Adoke to account for the sum of $3.2 billion allegedly belonging to the 774 local governments on whose behalf one Mr. Joe Agi SAN obtained the judgment.
According to media report, “…none of the local governments benefited from the $1.6 billion said to have been paid to the plaintiffs.”
The question on the minds of many Nigerians is: Who really authorized the disbursement of the funds?
I am not so good at mathematics, but I know for sure that a trillion is made up of several billions; and several millions makes a billion. If my knowledge of math is still with me, it is either this judgement is a sham or there is a deliberate distortion somewhere!
In a country with a reputation of corrupt judiciary doing the biddings of their pay master, one do not need to wait too long to buy “gbanjo” judgement using the Yoruba parlance language. We live in a country where the Judiciary that is supposed to be the last hope of the common man is providing no hope, but hardship. We all are witnesses to the fact that people like Justice Salami sold their conscience for their paymasters and were all ignominiously shown the way out of the famous institution.
At this point let us bring in former Minister of Finance, Dr (Mrs) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. She has to be brought in because, going by conventional wisdom, she served as the custodian of the nation’s treasury at the time so she cannot be “insulated” from the news. More curiously we ask: would Dr. Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala not have made the part payment of $1.6 billion? In her own case, did she collude with the Adoke because she too ignored the advice of the Debt Management Office? As the Coordinating Minister of the Economy at the time, did she not ought to have protected Nigeria by defending the position of the DMO instead of following Adoke’s dubious directive to pay the sum of a judgment debt of $3.6 billion?
While I do not envy the former finance minister at all for having to serve in the same administration with people like Adoke, we must resist the temptations to assume that everyone that served under Hitler was evil. After all, President Buhari served under one of the worst administrations in Nigeria’s history- General Sanni Abacha. So why should Okonjo-Iweala be guilty by association if Buhari is not guilty of the Abacha’s crimes?
The role of Okonjo-Iweala as finance minister is not to question expenditures or vouchers. Those are roles purely of the Offices of the Accountant-General and the Auditor-General of the Federation. For God’s sake, why should I, for instance perform the duties of a nurse just because I am the physician?
That leads me to my next point, even if the monies were misappropriated, why should we blame Okonjo-Iweala for that?
If we take this line of thought as gospel, then we come to an answer such as this: A young man started working with a Commercial Bank as a Financial Control Officer. He diligently focused on his job that other things do not bother about any other things going on in the bank. He closed his eyes on the fraudulent deals going on among the top brass of the Bank for not wanting to be seen as a whistle-blower since he wasn’t employed for that.
This man won several awards both within and without the organization, but he soon discovered his diligence was not enough to prevent the Bank from going bankrupt. Should we say this man was responsible for the organization’s bankruptcy? Should he have blown the whistle? Should he have resigned when he became aware of the bad deals his superiors are engaging in even though it all started before he took the job? Whatever your answer is to these questions, this was the case with Okonjo-Iweala.
On this issue, I believe the coalition of the civil society should turn the searchlight and the heat on the bureaucrats at the Ministry of Justice and the then Attorney General of the Federation, Mr, Adoke (SAN).
The Yoruba people have a saying that for a child not to commit crimes is the reason he was given a name. Mr. Adoke has his own name which is definitely not Okonjo-Iweala! Therefore, leave Okonjo Iweala out of this mess.
Bade Adebolu is an accountant based in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti state. He sent this piece via badeadebolu@gmail.com
Views expressed are solely that of author and does not represent views of www.omojuwa.com nor its associates
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, yesterday, ordered the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Mohammed Adoke, SAN, and the chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Mr Ahmadu Giade to appear before it today, over the siege laid to the Lagos residence of Senator-elect for Ogun East senatorial zone, Prince Buruji Kashamu.
Trial judge, Justice Ibrahim Buba, in a short ruling, after Kashamu’s counsel had complained to the court of the occupation of the Senator-elect’s residence, said: “It is hereby ordered as follows:
In view of the urgent nature of this matter and in the light of subsisting judgment and court orders, instead of hearing an ex-parte application, the respondents are ordered to be put on notice to appear in court on 26/5/2015 at 12noon to be heard.
“And in view of the substantive judgement and court orders, time be and is hereby abridged for the respondents to appear,” the judge added. Meanwhile, the NDLEA said it was doing all within its constitutional power to ensure that Kashamu submits himself, adding that its officials would remain there until he appeared in court.
Kashamu is said to be wanted in the United States of America for alleged drug related crime had refused to be arrested at his Lagos residence, where operatives of the NDLEA had laid siege since Saturday, insisting that he would only submit to NDLEA upon being shown a warrant order for his arrest. NDLEA, insisted that Kashamu was on house arrest pending his scheduled appearance in court on Monday (yesterday).
According to Sahara Reporters, Affidavits filed by Nigeria’s Attorney General, Mohammed Bello Adoke that just leaked, has revealed a stealth and controversial attempt by President Goodluck Jonathan’s government to undermine the use of permanent voter cards (PVCs) in the forthcoming elections.
Judicial sources, who leaked the affidavits to SaharaReporters, said the documents show that Mr. Adoke is opposed to efforts by INEC to conduct free and fair elections using an updated electronic voters register and permanent voter cards.
At campaign stumps and interviews, President Jonathan has touted the adoption of PVCs as part of his legacy to ensure the empowerment of Nigerian voters, stating that the initiative would eliminate lapses in past elections. But affidavits filed by Mr. Adoke, a longtime confidante of Jonathan, reveal a surreptitious scheme to undermine the use of PVCs.
In one of the SECRET affidavits, Adoke, who is also Nigeria’s Minister of Justice, argued, “if the election is conducted majorly with the use of Permanent Voters’ Card, the constitutional right of the many eligible voters would be taken away from them.”
The affidavit also argued that the election “is likely to be unsuccessful if rigid use of the Permanent Voters’ Card is carried out.”
A second affidavit, also leaked to SaharaReporters, stated, “the use of card readers and/ or any other machine at the general elections must encourage eligible voters to vote without being deprived in any way.”
INEC chairman Attahiru Jega recently stated that the use of PVCs would not be to cast votes but to validate and authenticate the votes cast. The distinction, he said, was that the PVCs and card readers would prevent electoral manipulation by acting as a checking mechanism.
An INEC source told SaharaReporters that, without these electronic verification mechanisms, the presidential and other elections could be severely compromised.
Mr. Adoke’s affidavits, which are dated February 23, 2015, expose yet another attempt by President Jonathan’s associates to use incessant lawsuits to disrupt electoral processes decided on and announced by INEC several years ago.
SaharaReporters had revealed that cronies of Mr. Jonathan had filed some 15 lawsuits aimed at once again scuttling the presidential election now scheduled for March 28, 2015.
The affidavits by Mr. Adoke represent a new twist in the familiar plot, one legal source in Abuja told SaharaReporters. “The office of the Attorney General of the Federation has aligned itself with many litigants who are determined to use the courts to either scuttle the elections or stop INEC from using the best tools to prevent or drastically reduce rigging in this year’s elections. The use of rigging-proof electronic voter cards, which the AGF is now challenging, is an ominous sign,” said the source, a senior advocate of Nigeria, SAN
