‘I’ve been made a scapegoat’ — Adoke says he’ll reveal truth about OPL 245

Mohammed Adoke, former attorney-general of the federation (AGF), says Nigerians deserve to know the “whole truth” on the controversy surrounding the oil prospecting licence 245 known as the OPL 245 deal.

Adoke, who was the AGF and minister of justice between 2010 and 2015, said he was made a “scapegoat” on the OPL 245 court cases.

Speaking on Untold Stories with Adesuwa, the former AGF said he would publish a book in December that would highlight the issues involved in the deal.

Adoke said he has become a “damaged brand globally” over the oil processing licence deal, adding that he would not go down without a fight.

“Nigerians deserve to know the whole truth of the OPL 245 case and the scavengers, idiots and those who nearly ruined this country,” he said.

“They try to scapegoat innocent Nigerians. I’m not going to go down without a fight. Do I look like an idiot? I’m not going to go down without documenting history.

“By the time you read my book on OPL 245, I hope they will not stone some Nigerian leaders in this country, including those who call other people corrupt. But they represent the very symbol of corruption.”

Speaking further, the former AGF criticised the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari for being the “most incompetent” government in Nigerian history.

“The corruption allegations against this past government are emerging, let’s wait for a while,” he said.

“Let’s see what will come out of Emefiele’s investigation, the Air Nigeria case, the Paris Club saga and other things that will be investigated.”

THE OPL 245 SAGA

OPL 245 is an oil block located in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria.

Since 1998, the oil block has been a subject of international and national litigations — a situation that has stalled the growth of what is believed to be Nigeria’s most endowed oil block.

In 1998, OPL 245 was awarded to Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd during the administration of the late Sani Abacha, the then military head of state.

Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd is believed to be owned mainly by Mohammed Abacha, son of the late head of state, and Dan Etete, who was the petroleum minister at the time.

On July 2, 2001, former President Olusegun Obasanjo revoked Malabu’s licence and assigned the oil block to Shell — without a public bid.

Then, Malabu went to court, but the ownership was reverted to it in 2006 after the company reached an out-of-court settlement with the federal government.

Shell fought back and commenced an arbitration against Nigeria. However, when former President Goodluck Jonathan came to power in 2010, the controversy appeared to have been resolved with Shell and Eni agreeing to buy the oil block from Malabu for $1.1 billion.

The oil companies also paid $210 million as a signature bonus to the federal government of Nigeria.

However, foreign anti-corruption activists claimed that the deal was corrupt.

Adoke was the AGF and the minister of justice when the deal was sealed.

When former President Buhari came to office in 2015, his administration started a series of litigation against Royal Dutch Shell, Eni/Nigeria Agip Exploration (NAE), Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep (SNUD) Ltd, and Shell Nigeria Exploration Company (SNEPCO) — as well as Adoke over allegations of fraud and corruption in the OPL 245 deal.

The parties in the case all denied the allegations.

The Nigerian government lost most of the suits filed abroad on the allegations of fraud and corruption in the OPL case.

In March 2021, an Italian court acquitted Shell, Eni and all defendants of corruption charges in the $1.1 billion deal.

The prosecutors subsequently filed an appeal but Celestina Gravina, the Italian attorney general, said the case “has no basis… in fact, it should have finished earlier” and it was struck out in July 2022.

In another case, the high court of England and Wales ruled in July 2022 that Nigeria did not prove its allegations against Adoke.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is currently prosecuting Adoke over charges bordering on the OPL 245 transaction.