Imagine a country’s chief law oficer breaking the laws he was suppossed to enforce? That is what the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, alleges the former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke did.
The anti-graft agency accuses the now fugitive Adoke of diverting millions of dollars belonging to the Federal Republic of Nigeria into private pockets and has filed charges before a Federal High Court in Abuja for his alleged role in the $1.1bn Malabu oil scam.
It therefore means that Adoke faces extradiction from Holland, where he is hiding at the moment.
The EFCC accuses Adoke of fraudulently transferring over $800m to a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dan Etete, and Etete’s oil firm, Malabu Oil & Gas Limited from a Federal Government account.
Oil guru, Alhaji Abubakar Aliyu, the Chairman of A. A. Group and Rocky Top Services, is also accused of receiving $336,456,906.78.
The charge reads, “That you, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), on or about August 10, 2011 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, aided Dauzia Loya Etete (aka Dan Etete) and Malabu Oil & Gas Limited to commit the offence of money laundering by facilitating the payment of an aggregate sum of $801,540,000 only to Dauzia Loya Etete (aka Dan Etete) and Malabu Oil & Gas through the Federal Government of Nigeria Escrow account with number 41451493, IBAN GB 30CHAS609242411493 with JP Morgan Chase Bank in London, which you reasonably ought to have known represented the proceeds of an unlawful activity to wit: fraud, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18 (a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 as amended in 2012 and punishable under Section 15 (3) of the same Act.”
Checkpointcharley gathers that Adoke, who has been in Holland since last year, would be arraigned in absentia. He has refused to honour all EFCC invitations, saying that he is pursuing another degree in Holland, (which would be better than the law he had studied).
He had promised to return in August when he had claimed his academic programme would end. However, he later wrote a letter to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, saying he will not return because he had uncovered a plot by the EFCC and some of his political enemies to disgrace him in Nigeria.
A source at the EFCC has said that extradiction procedure will be initiated to extract Adoke from Holland since he has failed to honour their invitation.
“Since we know his location, we will begin extradition proceedings against him and ensure that he is brought back if he continues to remain uncooperative.”
Charge along with Adoke is a one-time oil minister in the late Abacha dictatorhip, Mr. Dan Etete, and Malabu Oil & Gas Limited. They face four counts cahrges for allegedly receiving $400m and $401m at separate times in August 2011 from Adoke, adding that Etete knew that the money was stolen.
The EFCC accuses Etete of collecting the monies and paying them into the accounts of Malabu Oil & Gas Limited.
The charges read, “That you, Dauzia Loya Etet (aka Dan Etete), and Malabu Oil & Gas Limited on or about August 24, 2011, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this court, directly or indirectly took control of the sum of $400,000,000, paid from the Federal Government of Nigeria Escrow account No 41451493 IBAN 30CHAS609242411492 with JP Morgan Chase Bank in London, into the account of Malabu Oil & Gas Limited, domiciled in PHB Plc (now Keystone Bank) Account No 1005552028.
“That you (Etete and Malabu Oil & Gas Limited) on or about August 10, 2011, directly or indirectly took control of the sum of $401,000,000, paid from the Federal Government of Nigeria Escrow account No 41451493 IBAN GB 30CHAS609242411493 with JP Morgan Chase Bank in London, into the account of Malabu Oil & Gas Limited domiciled in First Bank of Nigeria Plc Account No 2011828805, when you knew the funds formed part of the proceeds of unlawful activity to wit: fraud, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 15 (2) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 as amended in 2012 and punishable under Section 15 (3) of the same Act.”
Eighteen years after Nigeria’s richest oil block, OPL 245, was dubiously awarded to a new company by Etete, he now faces charges for his alleged crime.
Mr. Etete was petroleum minister in 1998 under the military dictator, Sani Abacha, when the block was awarded to Malabu Oil and Gas, a company partly owned by him.
cpcnews.org 