The Federal Government said on
Tuesday that it is making all necessary arrangements to extradite a former
attorney general of the federation and justice minister, Mohammed Adoke, to
face charges of fraud.
The counsel to the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Johnson Ojogbane, disclosed this on Tuesday
in Abuja.
The EFCC charged Mr. Adoke and
two multinational oil companies, Shell and ENI, to court for their roles in the
Malabu $1.1 billion scam.
The money was paid by the oil
firms into a Nigerian government account in London for OPL 245, an oil block
considered one of the richest in Africa. Mr. Adoke then authorised the transfer
of the funds into private accounts of former petroleum minister, Dan Etete, in
controversial circumstances. Over $800 million of the money was eventually
transferred.
Most of the money is believed to
have ended in private pockets of officials of the Goodluck Jonathan
administration including Mr. Adoke, who has, however, denied any wrongdoing.
On the last adjourned date, the
judge, Justice John Tsoho, fixed June 13 for arraignment of Mr. Adoke and the
other co-defendants including Mr. Etete.
Mr. Ojogbane, however, told the
News Agency of Nigeria that the matter could not proceed because the EFCC had
been unable to get Mr. Adoke and other defendants.
“The matter was adjourned until today for arraignment of the defendants, but up till now, we have not been able to secure the attendance of most of the defendants, because they are outside jurisdiction, that is they are outside the country.
“The Federal Government is doing everything within its powers to bring them back to Nigeria so that they can face their trial.
“The government will take steps, in collaboration with the international police to locate them and bring them back to Nigeria through extradition, which is a very cumbersome process, but it will be done,” Mr. Ojogbane said.
He said the court adjourned the
matter until October 26 after the court’s vacation to enable the process of
bringing Mr. Adoke and others back to Nigeria to be intensified.
Mr. Adoke, who had initially
pledged to make himself available for trial, made a u-turn saying he feared he
would not be treated fairly by the EFCC.
The EFCC had in December 2016, charged
nine suspects, including Mr. Adoke, over the purchase of OPL 245.
The Federal Government had also
on March 2, filed fresh charges against Shell Nigeria Exploration Production
Company Limited and Agip Nigeria Exploration Limited, a subsidiary of ENI, for
alleged complicity in the Malabu $1.1 billion scandal.
Mr. Adoke, Mr. Etete, Aliyu
Abubakar, ENI Spa, Ralph Wetzels, Casula Roberto, Pujatti Stefeno, Burrafati
Sebestiano and Malabu Oil and Gas were charged alongside the two multinational
oil companies.
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