A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Jabi has discharged former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Mohammed Adoke and six others charged with alleged fraudulent conduct in the handling of the controversial Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 245 (popularly referred to as the Malabu Oil deal).
By Emma Ogbuehi
A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Jabi has discharged former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Mohammed Adoke and six others charged with alleged fraudulent conduct in the handling of the controversial Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 245 (popularly referred to as the Malabu Oil deal).
Adoke was charged with a businessman, Aliyu Abubakar; Rasky Gbinigie; Malabu Oil and Gas Limited; Nigeria Agip Exploration Limited; Shell Nigeria Extra Deep Limited and Shell Nigeria Exploration Production Company Limited over the otherwise known as Malabu Oil scam
The former AGF was accused of collecting a gratification of N300m from Abubakar over the OPL 245 resolution, an allegation he denied.
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Justice Abubakar Kutigi, in a ruling on Thursday, upheld the no-case submissions made by all the defendants in the 40-count amended charge, marked: FCT/HC/CR/151/2020.
Justice Kutigi, held that the prosecution failed to lead evidence in prove of the essential elements in relation to the offences charged.
The judge, who noted that the charge was not well drafted and prosecuted, asked the prosecuting counsel to refrain from filing such charge in future.
Justice Kutigi held that allowing the case to remain in court will do untold injustice to the defendants, who ought not to be tried on the charge in the first place.
He proceeded to discharge all the defendants.
The issue has been on since April 9, 1998 when the then Federal Military Government awarded OPL 245 to Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd, said to be owned mainly by Mohammed Abacha, son of former military ruler, Sani Abacha, and Dan Etete, who was the petroleum minister at the time.
President Olusegun Obasanjo, revoked Malabu’s licence and assigned the oil block to Shell.
Malabu then went to court, and ownership was reverted to it in 2006 after it reached an out-of-court settlement with the Federal Government.