The arraignment of former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, and six others over alleged fraud in the $1.1b Malabu oil deal has been stalled due to non-service of charge on the defendants.
The prosecution counsel, Bala Sanga, stalled the proceedings when he announced to the court that only Nigeria AGIP Exploration Limited, Shell Nigeria Lateral Deep Limited, Shell Nigeria Exploration, as the 5th ,6th, and 7th defendants respectively have been served and that he does not know how others got to court.
He, however, told the court that the 2nd defendant who is Aliyu Abubakar is on the run.
The Counsel for Adoke, Paul Erokoro, who said he is waiving service due to non-service by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, urged the court to proceed with the arraignment.
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Erokoro emphasised that Adoke has being in the EFCC custody and bail application has been in process.
Counsel for the 2nd defendant, Wole Olanipekun, objected to the comment by the prosecution counsel that his client has been on the run even when the defendant was in court.
On the part of the 3rd defendant, Rasky Gbingie, his counsel, Mahmoud Mogaji, was furious about issue of non-service even when the defendant was in EFCC custody upon invitation and was detained.
The case of the counsel for the 5th defendant was also not different.
However the 4th defendant, Malabu Oil’s counsel was not present in court but its representative, one Isreal Nnagbona was present in court aligning with other lawyers on issue of non-service.
In the charge dated January 14, 2020, and filed on January 15, Adoke and others were alleged to have received gratification to carry out a fraudulent oil deal that ceded OPL 245 to Shell and Eni who in turn paid about $1.1 billion to accounts controlled by an ex-convict and former Petroleum Minister, Dan Etete.
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Etete, who is now at large, was a former Petroleum Minister under the regime of General Sani Abacha.
According to the charge, the former AGF among others in August 2013, while serving as a Minister, knowingly received United States Dollars equivalent of N300 million which is reasonably suspected of having been unlawfully obtained and thereby committed offence punishable under Section 319A of the Penal Code, Cap. 532 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990.
Adoke, who fled the country in 2015, returned on December 20, 2019. He is to face pending criminal charge brought against him by the EFCC for alleged abuse of office and money laundering in respect of the granting of the Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 245 to Shell and ENI.
Others charged along with him are Rasky Gbinigie, A. Abubakar, Malabu Oil and Gas Limited, Nigeria Agip Exploration Limited, Shell Ultra Deep Limited and Shell Nigeria Exploration Production Limited also alleged to have forged form CAC 7 and Board Resolution of Malabu Oil and Gas Limited and the letter of resignation of one Mohammed Sani to open a bank account No. 2018288005 with First Bank of Nigeria Plc to receive the sum of $401,540,000.00.
