Malabu Oil Scam: How Adoke facilitated $1.2bn bribe to Etete -EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday, told a federal high court in Abuja that the forfeited oil block prospecting licence known (OPL 245), was illegally and fraudulently acquired by Malabu Oil and Gas Limited.

Besides, the anti-graft agency revealed how former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, facilitated payment of $1.2bn bribe to Chief Dan Etete, a former Minister of Petroleum Resources.

The revelations from the EFCC were contained in its counter affidavit in opposition to the applications brought by Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited, praying the court to vacate its order of forfeiture made against them in respect of OPL 245.

In a counter affidavit moved by counsel to the EFCC, Ojogbane Johnson, the commission urged the court to refuse the applications as granting it will be prejudicial to respondent (EFCC). In its counter affidavit dated February 24, 2017, the commission gave a historic background of how the illegal and fraudulent transaction occurred.

Recall that Italian authorities have insisted that some top Nigerian government officials, including some members of the 7th National Assembly, were allegedly compromised in the Malabu oil scam. Named among those who allegedly soiled their fingers in the scam, included Senator Ikechukwu Obiora and Hon. Umar Bature, who Italian prosecutors identified as the arrowheads in the international billion-dollar scam.

Besides, EFCC further disclosed before Justice John Tsoho how the applicants conspired with Mohammed Bello Adoke, to fraudulently acquire the already illegally acquired OPL 245 assets knowing that Malabu’s interest in the deal was unlawful.

In the said counter affidavit with 36 paragraphs, the EFCC further revealed that Shell was fully aware that the allocation of the oil well and procedures adopted by the owners of Malabu Oil and Gas Limited was fraught with fraud but went ahead to consummate the transaction.

Giving a historic background of the transaction, the commission stated that sometime in April 1998, Malabu Oil and Gas Limited was incorporated in Nigeria with shareholders, namely Mohammed Sani, fronting for the late General Sani Abacha, Kwejwu Amafegha representing Dan Etete the then Minister of Petroleum Resources, and Hassan Hindu on behalf of Hassan Adamu.

In April 1998 when the company was incorporated, the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources offered the company deep water oil block prospecting licence, known as OPL 245, in line with the federal government indigenous policy in the upstream sector.

The counter affidavit deposed by Ibrahim Ahmed averred that the oil prospecting licence, against all known government regulations, was awarded to Malabu Oil and Gas, even before a formal application was submitted by the company….