General
Malabu Oil: Again, Court Frees Ex-AGF Adoke of Money Laundering Charges
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, dismissed money laundering charges filed against a former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr Bello Adoke.
The judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo, upheld the “no-case-submission” application filed by Mr Adoke after the prosecution, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), concluded its case and it was the turn of the defendants to present theirs.
A no-case submission is filed by a defendant at the end of the prosecution’s case, asking the court for an acquittal without having him or her present a defence. Such filing is premised on the presumption by the defendant that the prosecution, with all its witnesses and evidence tendered while making its case, failed to link him or her to the alleged crimes.
Mr Adoke was standing trial along with Mr Aliyu Abubakar, a businessman, on money laundering charges in the case.
In his ruling on Friday, Mr Ekwo said the EFCC failed to provide any substantial evidence linking Mr Adoke to the alleged offence.
The judge went ahead to discharge and acquit Mr Adoke of alleged offences.
But, the judge dismissed Mr Adoke’s co-defendant’s no-case-submission, ordering Mr Abubakar to enter his defence in the trial.
The ruling tallies with the judgement of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Jabi, Abuja, which, three weeks ago, freed Mr Adoke of complicity in alleged fraud in the controversial Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 245, widely known as Malabu Oil deal.
In the FCT High Court case, Mr Adoke, who was justice minister under former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, was charged alongside a businessman, Aliyu Abubakar; Rasky Gbinigie; Malabu Oil and Gas Limited; Nigeria Agip Exploration Limited; Shell Nigeria Extra Deep Limited and Shell Nigeria Exploration Production Company Limited over the Malabu oil scam.
They were arraigned in 2020 on a 40-count amended charge.
EFCC had, in the FCT High Court, conceded that it lacked evidence against Mr Adoke and his co-defendants, but insisted that it had led credible evidence to warrant the former AGF to enter his defence in the matter.
However, in the Federal High Court case in which judgement was delivered on Friday, the EFCC had charged Messrs Adoke and Abubakar, alleging money laundering to the tune of N300 million.
The anti-graft agency had, on August 4, 2020, re-arraigned Messrs Adoke and Mr Abubakar on an amended 14 counts of money laundering.
In count 9 of the charges, the EFCC had alleged that Adoke, sometime in 2013, in Abuja, “made a cash payment of $2,267,400 to Risslanudeen Muhammed” and thereby “committed an offence contrary to the combined effect of section 16(1)(d) and of section 19a) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 (as amended) and punishable under section 16(2)(b) of the same Act”.
There was no mention of the Malabu Oil deal in the case before Mr Ekwo, however, the details of charges featured in the charges that were before the FCT High Court, where the EFCC said the N300 million was a kickback from the sale of the oil block by Malabu Oil & Gas Limited in 2011.
Each of them faced seven counts. They had pleaded not guilty.
The court exonerated Mr Adoke on Friday but ordered the proceedings to continue against his co-defendant, who is now to enter his defence.
Friday’s ruling brings to an end Mr Adoke’s trial in connection with the controversial Malabu Oil scam.
The Malabu scandal involved the transfer of about $1.1 billion by Shell and ENI through the Nigerian government to accounts controlled by a former Nigerian petroleum minister, Mr Dan Etete.
From accounts controlled by Mr Etete, about half the money ($520 million) went to accounts of companies controlled by Mr Aliyu Abubakar, popularly known in Nigeria as the owner of AA Oil.
The transaction was authorised in 2011 by Mr Jonathan through some of his cabinet ministers and the money was payment for OPL 245, one of Nigeria’s richest oil blocks.
The oil resources of the OPL 245 licence have remained undeveloped since the controversies began.
Eni initiated international arbitration proceedings against Nigeria in September, alleging the Nigerian government has breached its obligations by refusing to let the firm develop the licence, which has now expired this May.
By Dipo Olowookere
A $15 million debt facility has been obtained by Watt Renewable Corporation from the AfriGreen Debt Impact Fund to finance hybrid solar power plants to be built and operated by the former, especially in Nigeria.
WATT intends to use the projects to serve commercial and industrial clients in Nigeria, particularly in the telecommunication and financial services sectors.
By integrating solar hybrid solutions, the firm aims to significantly reduce diesel consumption and CO2 emissions, enabling its clients to achieve substantial energy cost savings while promoting environmental sustainability.
As a pioneer in renewable energy solutions, WATT continues to drive innovation in Nigeria’s energy sector.
The company’s robust roll-out plan includes deploying hundreds of hybrid solar power sites nationwide to meet the growing energy demands of commercial & industrial clients.
This strategic expansion aligns with WATT’s vision to revolutionize energy access across Africa, enabling sustainable development and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The funds from AfriGreen provide the critical capital needed to accelerate WATT’s ambitious projects, strengthening its market position and empowering businesses with reliable and affordable energy solutions.
Business Post gathered that to mitigate the currency risk for WATT in the event of devaluation of the Nigerian Naira, AfriGreen is offering a local currency facility that matches the payment structure of the power purchase agreements.
“We are thrilled to partner with AFRIGREEN on this transformative journey to expand reliable and sustainable energy solutions across Africa.
“With this support, it enables us to accelerate our shared mission of providing hybrid solar power to businesses, reducing carbon emissions, and supporting economic growth while enhancing energy security for our clients,” the Managing Director of WATT, Mr Oluwole Eweje, said.
“We are delighted to support WATT in rolling out hundreds of hybrid sites across the country.
“This represents another key transaction for AFRIGREEN in Nigeria. The combination of high energy prices, good solar irradiation, and strong demand from industrial and commercial energy users makes this market particularly attractive for companies like WATT.
“By leveraging these favourable market conditions alongside WATT’s exceptional operational performance and a well-structured financing solution, we are setting the stage for a strong and lasting business partnership,” the Managing Director of AfriGreen, Mr Alexandre Gilles, stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has denied issuing a directive that gas supply to power generating companies (GenCos) be halted.
In a statement on Wednesday, the authority also denied instructing wholesale gas suppliers to stop further supply of gas to companies due to failure in payment obligations.
The NMDPRA described reports stating that it has directed the stoppage of gas supply to GenCos over N2 trillion debt as “false and completely unfounded”.
“It has absolutely no bearing on the information shared at a recent stakeholders’ engagement held in Lagos between the Authority, the OPTS, IPPG and other stakeholders in the oil and gas industry,” the NMDPRA said.
“The purpose of the engagement was to sensitise stakeholders on the requirements, opportunities and benefits associated with the implementation of the wholesale supply license as provided by sections 142 and 197 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
“It was a follow-up to an earlier stakeholder engagement held at the NMDPRA corporate headquarters in Abuja on November 27, 2024.
“The Authority wishes to reassure all our stakeholders and indeed the general public that at no time was the false statement made at that event and anywhere else, and are advised to completely disregard the publication as every effort is being made to ensure that the supply and distribution of natural gas and petroleum products to end users is seamless and unabated as we head into the festive season and indeed all through the coming year 2025.”
Recall that Nigeria’s national grid experienced another collapse on Wednesday, the 11th time in 2024 as Gencos couldn’t generate enough power, compounding issues facing the Nigerian power sector.
This was the first time in over a month as the last time the nation witnessed a nationwide shutdown in electricity supply was on November 7, 2024.
Before then, the country was experiencing an incessant collapse of the grid, which prompted the federal government to set up a team to address the issue.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria is currently experience a cut in power supply after the national grid collapsed for the 11th time in 2024.
This is the first time in over a month as the last time the nation witnessed a nationwide shut down in electricity supply was on November 7, 2024.
Before then, the country was experiencing an incessant collapse of the grid, which prompted the federal government to set up a team to address the issue.
However, just when Nigerians were thinking they will not witnessed another national grid collapse in the year, it issue reared its ugly head again.
On Wednesday afternoon, most of the energy distribution companies suffered power outage, prompting them to inform their customers of the situation.
One of the DisCos, Ikeja Electric Plc, in a message to electricity consumers under its franchise area, said, “Please be informed that we experienced a system outage today, December 11, 2024, at about 13:32 hours affecting supply within our network.
“Restoration of supply is ongoing in collaboration with our critical stakeholders. Kindly bear with us.”
Recall that on Tuesday, in a report, Google listed national grid as one of the top trending searches by Nigerians this year.
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