Malabu Oil fraud: Adoke gets N50m bail

— As Court issues arrest warrant against ex-petroleum minister, Dan Etete, two others

The embattled former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke has been granted N50 million bail in Gwagwalada on Thursday just as a warrant of arrest was issued against the former Petroleum minister Dan Etete and two others.

An Abuja High Court Justice Abubakar Kutigi, in his ruling, endorsed Adoke’s bail requested, and ordered him to produce a surety in like sum.

The judge also granted Adoke’s co-defendants- Aliyu Abubakar and Rasky Gbinigie bail pending the determination of corruption allegations against them.

While he gave Abubakar bail in the sum of N50 million, Gbinijie got bail at N10 million.

According to Kutigi, the sureties must be responsible citizens, who must depose affidavits of means.

He added that the sureties must be resident within the court’s jurisdiction and must own verifiable landed properties worth the bail sum.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had arraigned Adoke on 42 counts bordering on fraud and money laundering.

Adoke was arraigned alongside six others. They Pleaded not guilty.

Adoke is accused of using public office for gratification, an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 115(a) of the Panel Code, Cap. 532 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (Abuja)1990 and punishable under Section 115(i) of the same Penal Code.

Count one of the charge reads: “That you, Muhammed Bello Adoke, while being a public servant, as attorney-general and minister of Justice of the federation, sometime in August 2013, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, accepted from Aliyu Abubakar for yourself a gratification of US dollars equivalent of N300,000,000.00 (Three Hundred Million Naira) only other than lawful remuneration, as a motive for facilitating and negotiating the Block 245 Resolution Agreement with Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited, Nigeria Agip Exploration Limited, and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 115(a) of the Penal Code, Cap. 532 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (Abuja)1990 and punishable under Section 115(i) of the same Penal Code.”

Meanwhile, the former Minister of Petroleum, Dauzia Loyal Etete, better known as Dan Etete, has been ordered arrested in connection with the Malabu Oil scam by the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Gwagwalada, Abuja.

Justice Abubakar Kutigi ordered the arrest of Etete along with Munamuna Seidougha, and Joseph Amaran.

This followed an ex parte application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which had accused them of playing roles in the alleged fraudulent allocation of the lucrative Oil Processing Licence 245 to Malabu Oil and Gas Limited in 1998.

The three were said to be the owners of Malabu Oil and Gas Limited to which Etete, as the then Minister of Petroleum under the regime of General Sani Abacha, facilitated the fraudulent allocation of the oil block.

EFCC had named Etete, Seidougha, and Amaran as being on the run in the 42 counts of the alleged fraudulent Malabu Oil transactions recently filed against the immediate-past Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr Mohammed Adoke (SAN), and six others.