Malabu Oil deal: Arrest of Adoke, ex-AGF, against order of Court –- Ozekhome SAN

After several years in self exile, former Attorney General of
the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke (SAN) is
reported to have been arrested in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
by Interpol.

Before his arrest, Adoke was charged by the Federal Government
for being complicit in graft bordering on the controversial Malubu
Oil scam.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2017
filed charges against Shell Nigeria Exploration Production Company,
Nigeria Agip Exploration Limited, Eni Spa, Raph Wetzels, Casula
Roberto, Pujato Stefeno, Burrato Sebastiano, Duazia Louya Etete
(aka Dan Etete), Mohammed Bello Adoke, Aliyu Abubakar and Malabu
Oil and Gas Limited over the oil block scam.

All the defendants declared wanted had repeatedly failed to
appear before the court.

Prosecution of the case suffered many setbacks following the
absence of Adoke who left the country shortly after the
inauguration of President Mohammadu Buhari in 2015.

Not deterred in it’s quest to prosecute the former Attorney
General , the EFCC in April 17, 2019 obtained a warrant of arrest
issued by Justice Danlami Zenchi directing relevant security
agencies in Nigeria and the Interpol to arrest him.

But before the arrest warrant was issued, Adoke who has
consistently denied any involvement and complicity in the Malubu
Oil deal, got a judgment of a Federal High Court which barred the
Federal government from prosecuting him over his actions while in
office.

But commenting on the alleged arrest, Adoke’s lawyer, Chief Mike
Ozekhome (SAN) queried how the arrest was carried out against a
subsisting order of court which vacated the arrest warrant obtained
by the Federal Government.

Said Ozekhome:”I don’t have the facts of the situation but I
know that the Federal government has not appealed against the
judgment of Justice Zenchi who quashed the warrant of arrest on
him.

“The order is subsistiting so I don’t know how the government
will go against the order and arrest him in a foreign land, which
the judgment was against.

“Besides, the court had told the Federal government that if you
want him, then you can serve him with the charge through
substituted means by advertising same in a national daily. I have
not seen any advertisement to that effect so I don’t know how the
arrest came about.”

Ozekhome had got the same court to set the warrant of arrest
aside on the grounds that the order was issued without
jurisdiction.

Ozekhome told the court that the defendants listed in the charge
had not been served with a copy before the order was made.

Consequently, Justice Zenchi on October 25, 2019, quashed the
arrest warrant with a directive that the prosecution should follow
due process of serving him by substituted means.

Justice Zenchi had specifically ordered that “the arrest warrant
issued for the arrest of the 4th-9th defendants in charge No
FCT/HC/CR/124/2017 and to be executed by the police and the
Interpol is declared null and void and of no effect whatsoever.

“Accordingly, the order of 17th April 2019 issuing a bench
warrant on the 4th-9th defendants is hereby set aside and
vacated.

“It is further ordered that the case be adjourned sine die until
the prosecution takes the required procedural steps to effect
service on the defendants herein.”

Regardless, the Federal government had not relented in her
efforts to arrest Adoke and bring him to book.

The office of the Attorney General of the Federation and
Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) recently perfected paper
works to that effect

Though the Minister could not be reached for his response, it
was learnt that Nigeria recently signed a mutual legal assistance
treaty with the UAE that would ensure Nigerians accused of
corruption and fraud can be arrested and deported to Nigeria to
face prosecution. Such persons could also have their properties in
that country seized.

Adoke recently accused Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, and
Ibrahim Magu, the acting Chair of the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) of instigating his prosecution.

He made the allegations in his book, ‘Burden of Service’ where
he equally mentioned former Senate leader, Ali Ndume as one of his
traducers.

In the book, he said: “I was told an influential governor from
the North-West geopolitical zone once asked Magu why he was after
me so vindictively.

“Magu reportedly confessed to him that it was the
Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, that directed him to do
so.

“He also advised the governor to tell me that I should go and
sort out whatever issues I had with Osinbajo.

“On receiving that information, I recalled that one of Magu’s
top aides had also voiced a similar sentiment to someone that the
VP had given the marching orders to get Adoke at all costs.

“Still, I won’t blame the VP alone. Magu also had his own
agenda. A senator asked him if he had any personal issues with me,
and Magu replied that I owned half of the Centenary City in
Abuja.”