Similarly, the same particulars of the case were also filed
against the former AGF, Abubakar and some other defendants before Abubakar
Kutigi, judge of the FCT high court in 2020
However, on March 28, 2024, Kutigi pointed out the
contradiction, while dismissing the charges against Adoke and other defendants,
chiding the EFCC for wasting the court’s time for four years.
Both charges were premised on allegations that Adoke
received money as a bribe from the sale of the OPL 245 oil block by Malabu Oil
& Gas Ltd in 2011.
Reacting in a statement on Friday, Adoke described the
judgments as a vindication for him.
He said his faith in the Nigeria project is not misplaced or
shaken, saying the two charges filed at separate courts on the same facts were
intended “to annoy and cause me maximum discomfort and expense”.
ADOKE’S FULL
STATEMENT
“Today, the Federal High Court, Abuja, Coram Inyang Ekwo, J upheld the
No case Submission I made to the spurious charges levied against me by the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the official role I played
in the implementation of the 2006 Settlement Agreement entered into by the
Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and Malabu Oil & Gas Limited (Malabu)
over the disputed ownership of OPL 245.
“It will be recalled that the
High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Coram Abubakar Kutigi, J, had on
Thursday, 28th March 2024, similarly upheld the No case submission I made to
the charges filed against me. The EFCC had, in their wisdom and in the exercise
of their prosecutorial powers, filed charges on the same facts in different courts
to annoy and cause me maximum discomfort and expense.
“Nigerians will recall that I served the country in the exalted
position of honourable attorney general of the federation and minister of
justice from April 2010 to May 29, 2015. During that period, I received
Presidential Approval/Directive to implement the subsisting 2006 settlement
agreement between the FGN and Malabu, which at the material time had been
reduced into a consent judgment of the federal high court, Abuja. When the
EFCC, at the instigation of some powerful persons in the country, ostensibly
because of the enabling political environment, began their shenanigans sometime
in 2015, I took out an originating summons against the FGN praying the federal
high court, Abuja, to determine whether I, acting as the attorney general of
the federation and minister of justice in the government of the federation
could be held personally liable for carrying out or implementing the
presidential approvals/directives of the president in exercise his powers under
section 5 and 148 of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria, 1999.
The federal high court, Abuja, Coram, Binta Nyako, J declared in essence that I
did no wrong by carrying out the president’s lawful directives and that I
could, therefore, not be held personally liable for discharging my
responsibilities.
“Nigerians will also recall that when the OPL 245 Settlement Agreement
came under the searchlight of the EFCC in 2017, the Honourable Attorney General
of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, CON, had in
his reasoned legal opinion to the EFCC confirmed that he had reviewed the
Settlement Agreement and could not find any illegality in the transaction. The
Honourable Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Dr IbeKachikwu, also wrote an
opinion to the President through the Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, where he
opined in essence that the transaction was for the benefit of the country as it
would enable the Oil block to be developed for the benefit of the country.
“Despite these exonerating opinions and the subsisting judgment of the
FHC, Abuja, the EFCC proceeded to charge me and other entities for corruption,
money laundering and other sundry offences. I had no option but to submit
myself to the legal process. It has been a harrowing experience that has lasted
for over nine years due mainly to the antics of the Prosecution, which
hurriedly filed charges against me to satisfy some narrow political interests
but became reluctant to prove their case for want of evidence. The trial became
an object of a political witch hunt and scapegoatism, as the EFCC needed to
hang corruption charges on my neck as a way of sustaining FGN’s claims against
the implementation of the Settlement Agreement in foreign jurisdictions such as
Milan– Italy, the United States of America and the United Kingdom.
“Predictably, these foreign
jurisdictions examined the OPL 245 transaction and my role in implementing the
Settlement Agreement and, in their reasoned judgments, held that there were no
infractions of a criminal nature. Consequently, the charges in Milan–Italy were
quashed, theUnited States Department of Justice found no criminality in the
transaction, and the United Kingdom Commercial Court, which interestingly in
affirming the legality of the transaction, commended the role I played in the
implementation of the Agreement.
“I am delighted to observe that despite the campaign of calumny
launched against me by the EFCC domestically and internationally, which
essentially deprived me of my livelihood as a Lawyer and Arbitrator since 2016,
and loss of family life and reputation, I survived. God was kind to me by
granting me good health and friends who came to my aid in several ways. Now
that the trial is over, I have the option of suing the Nigerian State and all
those who contributed to my ordeal. While contemplating the next steps, I leave
all my traducers to their conscience and the judgment of posterity. I am
grateful to the Almighty Allah for divine mercies and blessings,my family for
standing by me and enduring the public odium associated with trials of this
nature, my friends for living up to the name and my lawyers for their
forbearance and industry.
“Despite my ordeal, my faith in
the Nigeria Project is not misplaced or shaken. I will continue to contribute
my quota to the progress and development of our great country.”
