Lokpobiri to Abacha’s son: I won’t join issues with your family — oil blocks belong to FG

Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for petroleum resources (oil), says Nigeria has sovereign rights over the oil prospecting licence (OPL) 245 oil block.

Speaking at a press briefing on July 12, Lokpobiri said all oil blocks are owned by the federal government.

On July 3, Lokpobiri said Nigeria has resolved all issues regarding OPL 245.

However, Mohammed Abacha, son of a former head of state, demanded Lokpobiri retract his claims of resolving the OPL 245 dispute, saying the matter is still in court.

Abacha laid claim to the ownership of Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd, the company originally awarded the OPL in 1998 by Sani Abacha, his father.

Responding to the claims, Lokpobiri said the federal government would take all lawful measures to guarantee that Nigerians profit from the country’s oil blocks’ availability.

“I don’t want to join issues with the Abacha family, you know, for OPL 245. But as far as I know, every oil block belongs to the federal government of Nigeria. We will give licences to different people to operate,” he said.

“Oil blocks are federation assets, and the federal government will do anything that is legal to ensure that Nigerians benefit from the availability of these oil blocks in this country.

“I don’t want to join issues with the Abacha family, but I can assure you that we are resolving all the issues with OPL 245 in accordance with overriding national strategic interest.

“This matter has lingered on for the past 28 years. And if I were a member of the Abacha family, I would not even raise my head. As Heineken Lokpobiri, I can’t give any Lokpobiri a licence. That in itself is criminal. So if they know what they are doing, they should just keep quiet.”

Lokpobiri said Nigeria has laws just like any other country, adding that he would carry out his duties concerning the issue.

THE OPL 245 SAGA

In 2011, Shell and Eni paid $1.1 billion to acquire OPL 245 after Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd, the original allottee, relinquished its entire interest in the oil block.

This followed a settlement brokered by the Nigerian government to end a 10-year legal dispute on the acreage, which is considered to be one of the richest in Africa.

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

However, activists launched an international campaign alleging that the OPL 245 deal was fraudulent and that the proceeds were used to bribe government officials. 

STRING OF LOSSES

When former President Muhammadu 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) over the allegations.

On March 17, 2021, an Italian court acquitted Shell, Eni and all defendants of corruption charges in the $1.1 billion deal.

In April 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also closed an investigation into the deal after it could not prove fraud or corruption.

Also in June 2022, Nigeria lost its $1.7 billion claim against JP Morgan Bank over the transfers of proceeds from the sale of the oil block to Malabu’s directors.

In November 2023, after several losses, the federal government withdrew its $1.1 billion civil suit — in relation to the OPL 245 deal — against Eni and Shell in Italian courts. 

In March, Mohammed Bello Adoke, the Nigerian attorney-general when the OPL 245 resolution agreement was signed in 2011, was discharged by a Federal Capital Territory high court over allegations of bribery and corruption in the transaction.