P&ID: Adoke Sues Malami Over ‘Defamatory statements’

Mohammed Bello Adoke, Former attorney-general and minister of justice, has filed a suit against Abubakar Malami, his predecessor, defamatory statements made against him in the P&ID case.

There have been attempts by the Nigerian government to get a $9.6 billion arbitration award which was upturned by proving corruption and conspiracy on the part of P&ID and past Nigerian government officials.

Malami had in a statement at the High Court of Justice of England and Wales, said Adoke as corrupt.

He alleged that Adoke “heavily implicated in the OPL 245 case” which suggested that he connived with the lawyer to make the country lose the P&ID arbitration.

However, in an application at the high court on August 13, Adoke lamented that Malami’s statements were false defamatory, scandalous, and malicious statements, which “amount to an abuse of the process of the court”. 

He said Malami was aware at the time he made the statements that they were false as he had advised President Muhammadu Buhari that he had not done anything wrong in the OPL 245 matter.

Adoke sought the “redaction of the 4th witness statement of Honorable Abubakar Malami filed on 5th December 2019″. 

He also asked the Nigerian government, through the AGF, to delete “statements in paragraphs 11.4, 23, and 24.4 of the 4th witness statement of Honourable Abubakar Malami filed on 05/12/2019 on behalf of the claimant/respondent in the Arbitration in the manner set out in the schedule thereto”.

Adoke had asked Malami in a statement last july to take back the false evidences he presented against him in the English Court.

He further demanded an apology for the harm that was done to his name.

He said Malami had, in the witness statement, admitted that “Adoke refused a gift of money from the lawyer that he had appointed to conduct the arbitration. Yet, instead of lauding him, you accused him of being corrupt”.

Malami, however also said Adoke’s demand for an apology was misconceived.