OPL 245: “We Have No Evidence” – EFCC Concedes To Adoke’s No-case Submission

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said it does not have evidence to support its charges of fraud, bribery and conspiracy against the former Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke.

In its response to the no-case submission filed by Adoke, who was listed as the first defendant in the charges all related to the OPL 245 transaction of 2011, the EFCC told the FCT High Court that it would not oppose the application.

The anti-graft body also said it would not oppose the no-case applications by the other defendants, Aliyu Abubakar, Rasky Gbinigie (Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd’s company secretary), Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd, Nigeria Agip Exploration Ltd, Shell Ultra Deep Nigeria Ltd, and Shell Nigeria Exploration Production Company Ltd (SNEPCo), over some of the charges.

However, the EFCC said Gbinigie has a case to answer over the alleged forgery of company documents to remove the name of Mohammed Abacha as a director of Malabu Oil & Gas.

Recall that the EFCC had charged Adoke before the FCT high court, Abuja, alleging that he collected a gratification of N300 million from Abubakar over the OPL 245 resolution.

He was accused of conspiring with other defendants to “commit the offence of public servant disobeying direction of law with intent to cause injury or to save a person from punishment or property from forfeiture”.

Adoke was also accused of “knowingly disobeying direction of law” by allegedly “saving Shell Nigeria Ultra-Deep Limited, Nigeria Agip Exploration Limited and Shell Nigeria Exploration Company Limited from charges of taxes”.

The former AGF was also accused of “having accepted a gratification of N300,000,000.00 (Three Hundred Million Naira) in the exercise of his official functions”.

Adoke denied all allegations, maintaining that the N300 million being classified as bribery by the EFCC was a mortgage he took from Unity Bank Plc in 2012.

He said it was transferred by the bank directly to the account of Abubakar, a property developer, and was refunded by Abubakar in 2013 when Adoke could not come up with his equity contribution.

Abubakar then sold the property to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The EFCC had also filed another case against Adoke and Abubakar, alleging money laundering to the tune of $2 million (then worth about N300 million) before the federal high court in Abuja.

Adoke always insisted that he was a victim of political victimisation by former president Muhammadu Buhari on behalf of the Abacha family who felt cheated in the OPL 245 transaction.