Ex-AGF Adoke released in Dubai, departs for Nigeria – TheNigerialawyer

Nigeria’s former Attorney-General, Mohammed Bello Adoke, has
departed the United Arab Emirates for Nigeria, after he was freed
by the Interpol outpost in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

Adoke left Dubai on Emirates Airlines Flight 785 which departed
the Emirati commercial capital at 11:00 a.m. Dubai time (8: 00 a.m
Nigerian time) and was estimated to arrive Abuja at 3:40 p.m. local
time, according to sources familiar with his itinerary.

The departure capped a five-week ordeal of Adoke in Emirati
detention. He was arrested by Interpol on November 11 after
arriving in the UAE for medical check-up and summarily taken into
custody.

His arrest followed an Interpol red alert which the Nigerian
government had issued against him as part of the ongoing litigation
over the controversial Malabu Oil deal.

But the UAE authorities freed him after Nigeria failed to
provide legal basis and other requisite bilateral supports to
justify his continued detention.

The arrest warrant upon which Adoke was arrested had long being
nullified by the same judge that issued it. But the Nigerian
government failed to update Interpol appropriately.

It was learnt that during the five weeks that Adoke was held,
the Nigerian government failed to file necessary legal documents
that would either allow the UAE to extradite him to Nigeria or keep
him in their custody.

The failure was a major letdown for UAE authorities because
Nigeria had promised Interpol of a robust action towards Adoke’s
extradition if arrested, an official familiar with the matter
said.

“Nigeria had committed that it would seek his extradition in
conformity with international law applicable in bilateral and
multilateral treaties,” the official said under anonymity because
he had no permission to comment on the controversy.

“But because his warrant had been quashed, Nigeria was unable to
make a legitimate request for his extradition. Our government
simply played politics with the matter rather than behave as a
responsible member of the international community.

“They (UAE) expected Nigeria to act, but Nigeria failed to act
and they were embarrassed,” the source added.

Another source with details of Adoke’s detention said the senior
Nigerian lawyer wrote to the police in Dubai on December 11, asking
them to free him since Nigeria had failed to act and that he was
heading to Nigeria on his own, anyway.

“He said he was on his way to Nigeria when he was intercepted in
the UAE as he tried to go for his final medical check-up,” a source
said, citing his conversation with Adoke. “He said what had kept
him in exile was his book and since his book was released in
September, he felt he could come back to Nigeria.”

Malami could not be reached for comments Thursday morning. But
the attorney-general had insisted that he would not act on Adoke’s
matter because there was no formal communication from the UAE
authorities on his arrest. The police in Dubai did not return an
email seeking comment about Adoke’s detention.

Adoke, attorney-general from April 2010 to May 2015, left
Nigeria after the Goodluck Jonathan government stepped down. He
left the country for a graduate study at a university in The
Netherlands.

He however did not return home after his study. He alleged a
conspiracy by the current administration to persecute him.

Adoke was the attorney-general when $1.1 billion was paid by
Shell and Agip-Eni to purchase Nigeria’s OPL 245, a lucrative oil
field off the country’s southern coast.

Dan Etete, a former petroleum minister during Sani Abacha
regime, who was convicted for money laundering in France in 2007,
received a large chunk of the payment.

But the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission alleged that
some individuals and officials of the Goodluck Jonathan government
received kickbacks.

Messrs Adoke, Jonathan and others named in the scandal all
strongly denied receiving bribes from anyone or committing any
wrongdoing.

In 2017, Adoke’s successor, Abubakar Malami, told President
Muhammadu Buhari he could not find evidence of wrongdoing against
Adoke, advising the president to authorise the dropping of all
pending charges against him.

A Nigerian court also ruled that Adoke could not be punished or
prosecuted for official actions he took while in office based on
presidential directives.

Authorities in Nigeria, Italy, United Kingdom and the United
States have conducted several investigations into the contoversial
transaction. While Shell and Agip continue to deny any wrongdoing,
both oil giants are currently standing trial in Italy over the
matter.

The EFCC dismissed Malami’s position and continued efforts to
bring Adoke back to Nigeria to face charges. In April 2019, the
anti-graft agency secured a court warrant for Adoke’s arrest.

Based on the warrant, the Nigerian government in August 2019
secured an Interpol red notice asking Adoke to be taken into
custody if sighted in any jurisdiction.

But in October, the warrant was nullified by the same judge that
issued it, giving Adoke renewed confidence to continue to sojourn
in foreign lands.

Unknown to Adoke, the Nigerian government did not withdraw the
red notice issued against him after the warrant was quashed.

Once he stepped into the UAE on November 11, he was arrested by
Interpol and handed over to the country’s authorities who then
illegally held him for five weeks.