BY: IFEANYI IZEZE<\/p>\n
Why do our government officials proudly wear the toga of \u2018people of
\nhalf-measures\u2019 everywhere and in everything? Is it not distressing to
\nthink that The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been
\non this Malabu (OPL 245Oil bloc) heinous crime against our common
\ninterest for over a decade now and still they are yet to get a hold on
\nthe crux of the matter and the actual dramatis personae rather they have
\nwasted our resources and time chasing shadows.<\/p>\n
Why is the EFCC deliberately suppressing the truth concerning the
\ntransactions and rather rushing to slam criminal charges solely against
\nthe former Attorney General of the Federation Mohammed Adoke for
\nconspiracy\/aiding money laundering and all sorts of other offences?<\/p>\n
Malabu Oil and Gas Company Nig. Limited was allocated or rather gave
\nitself OPL 245 in April, 1998 and appointed Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep
\n(SNUD) as its technical partner, with the two companies executing
\nrelevant agreements, including a Joint Operation Agreement in 2001.
\nRecords indicate that SNUD took 40 percent participating interests in
\nthe venture in a farm-in agreement and also signed agreement with Malabu
\nas its technical partner for the venture. Although Malabu was issued a
\nlicense for Bloc 245 in April 2001, the same licence was subsequently
\nrevoked by the Federal Government on 2nd July, 2001. Exxon-Mobil,
\nENI\/Nigerian Agip and Shell were invited in April 2002 to bid for OPL
\n245 despite subsisting contractual agreements between Malabu and SNUD
\nwith respect to OPL 245.<\/p>\n
Despite the intrigues, politics and outright mischief by both the
\nfederal government and all the companies involved (real and fake ones),
\nthe question to ask is: Was there anything like \u201cOPL245 Resolution
\nAgreement with Malabu Oil and Gas, Shell, ENI and their Nigerian
\nsubsidiaries?\u201d What was the role of the Federal Government in the
\nAgreement: was the government a party or a mediator?<\/p>\n
Whether anybody wants to hear this or not, the charges being levelled
\nagainst Adoke reveal very clearly that either the Office of the Attorney
\nGeneral of the Federation and that of the EFCC are not working in
\nharmony or that something sinister is going on. And it ought not to be
\nso if actually we are serious about tracing the missing money in the
\nMalabu transactions.<\/p>\n
Is it not curious that one very key missing link in all these EFCC
\ntheatrics is the Attorney General of the Federation and the Minister of
\nJustice, Abubakar Malami. Why is he not telling the EFCC and Nigerians
\nwhether his predecessors in office from 2006 to May 2015 acted in the
\nnational interest when they brokered and implemented the Settlement? It
\nis instructive for Nigerians to know whether his predecessors were
\ncarrying out their personal agenda or that their respective actions were
\ncarried out with the knowledge and approval of their respective
\nprincipals.<\/p>\n
Except there is more to this case that we are meant to believe, it is
\nAbubakar Malami\u2019s duty to tell the public that the transaction started
\nunder President Obasanjo, under whose administration the Terms of
\nSettlement were brokered. The executor of the terms was Bayo Ojo (SAN),
\nwho was the Attorney General. He performed this role before the tenure
\nof Goodluck Jonathan, who approved the final implementation of the Terms
\nof Settlement. Adoke was similarly an executor of the resolution
\nagreements, especially because the whole process and its implementation
\nwere domiciled with the Ministry of Justice.<\/p>\n
Curiously, the EFCC has deliberately circumcised this case? It will be
\nrecalled that the Terms of Settlement encapsulating details of the
\nSettlement between the Federal Government of Nigeria and Malabu Oil &
\nGas Limited (Malabu) was executed on 30th November 2006. The Terms of
\nSettlement, which was later reduced to a Consent Judgment of the Federal
\nHigh Court, Abuja, was brokered by Chief Bayo Ojo (SAN) the then AGF who
\nsigned on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria in conjunction
\nwith Edmund Dakauru, the then Minister of State for Petroleum.<\/p>\n
How come the EFCC is pretending not to be aware that the role played by
\nthe Federal Government, its agencies and officials in the transaction
\nwas essentially that of facilitator of the resolution of a long standing
\ndispute between Malabu and Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep?<\/p>\n
What is the effect of Section 5 of the Constitution on persons who act
\npursuant to lawful Presidential approvals? This is more so as two out of
\nthe three Presidents that had the opportunity to scrutinize this
\nSettlement (Presidents Obasanjo and Jonathan) are still alive. Have they
\ndisowned the Settlement? Has Chief Bayo Ojo (SAN) distanced himself from
\nthe Settlement he brokered? Have the Ministers of Petroleum Resources
\nand Finance at the time of implementation of the Settlement (Mrs Diezani
\nAllison-Madueke, and Dr. Olusegun Aganga, respectively) disowned the
\nSettlement or their signatures?<\/p>\n
How do you explain that the EFCC is trying to impugn the transaction,
\nwhich was scrutinized and approved by Obasanjo, Yar\u2019Adua and Jonathan
\nas well as three Attorneys-General, solely on Adoke leaving out the
\nother two-Bayo Ojo and Andoakaar? Why is the EFCC not arresting and\/or
\ndetaining any top level official from Agip, Shell, Mobil amongst others?<\/p>\n
The arrest and detention of Adoke Muhammed is not the end-all. What\u2019s
\nat issue in this Malabu case is the whereabouts of the $1.1 billion
\nENI\/Nigerian Agip oil Company paid into Nigeria\u2019s bank account at JP
\nMorgan branch in New York, which was then hurriedly transferred to JP
\nMorgan branch in London, where it was shared by just few people,
\nincluding a former Russia\u2019s diplomat; and, Dan Etete – a past Oil
\nMinister in Nigeria who\u2019s since admitted he got $250 million as his
\nshare of the bounty, thereby leaving about $850 million unaccounted for
\nas yet.<\/p>\n
Where is the missing $850 million in the transaction that was shared in
\nLondon? That is the rub. That\u2019s where the EFCC looks lazybones for
\nfailing to trace the remainder $850 into individuals\u2019 pockets and
\nasking Interpol to repatriate Chief Dan Etete. For those failings EFCC
\ncan\u2019t claim to be doing more than going through the motions so long as
\nit doesn\u2019t retrieve any portion of the $1.1 billion Malabu Oil fraud
\nat large. God bless Nigeria!<\/p>\n