I didn’t abscond from trial – TheNigerialawyer

Former Attorney-General of the Federation Mohammed Bello Adoke
(SAN) on Sunday said he did not abscond from trial as claimed by
the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

He said he was not on the run, and that the charge against him
was filed after he had travelled overseas for further studies.

Adoke said he would soon return to defend himself.

Besides, he said “damning revelations” from the ongoing trial of
Shell and ENI in Italy shows that the commission has no case
against him.

In a statement, he said the commission should the honourably
withdraw the charge.

Adoke said: “How can EFCC say I absconded to Europe? I was
already out of the country studying at the University of Leiden in
the Netherlands when the persecution started, so how can they say I
ran away? Was there any pending case against me?

“I left Nigeria in June 2015 for further studies. Mr. Ibrahim
Magu, who is being manipulated to fight me, assumed office in
November 2015. How then could I have run away from him and his
collaborators five months ahead? Did I foreknow that my traducers
would put their stooge as EFCC Chairman?

“The most ridiculous aspect of this joke is that the EFCC case
of money laundering filed against me over a mortgage account I
never operated was not about Malabu.

“Nigerians have been given the impression by the EFCC spin
masters that I was charged to court for money laundering over OPL
245 and Malabu. In the real sense, nowhere did EFCC mention Malabu
or OPL 245 in the court papers. It was ‘wuruwuru’ to the
answer.

“Their case has crumbled and they know it but they have become
so reckless that they are not ready to stop wasting tax payers’
money on frivolous court cases. I will come home to defend myself
after attending to my health. There are no questions about
that.”

Adoke faulted EFCC’s claim that it had established a prima facie
case bothering on corruption against him on the OPL 245
transaction.

According to him, there is clearly no shred of evidence to
convict him of wrongdoing.

Adoke said: “The ongoing trial of Shell and ENI officials in
Italy has exposed the lies that EFCC has been cooking up against
me.

“Mr. Ednan Tofik ogly Agaev, a former Russian ambassador, said
in court that he mentioned my name as one of those who benefited
from the OPL 245 deal because of pressure from the FBI.

“He said the FBI interview cannot be used against him in court.
That is an eye-opener for those who are interested in justice.

“A few days later, Mr. Vincenzo Armanna, former ENI manager,
told the same court that I confronted ENI officials that if any one
gave bribe, they would be arrested and prosecuted.

“These statements were made in the open court and reported by
the media globally. Yet the same EFCC, in a strange press release
on Thursday, said the statements in the Italian court are of no
relevance to the criminal charge against me in Nigeria.

“Ironically, the EFCC had used the same case in Italy as
evidence that my trial in Nigeria should continue contrary to the
advice of the Office of the AGF.

“Suddenly, the trial in Italy is of no relevance again because
it does not fit into their predetermined agenda against me.”

EFCC, through its spokesman Tony Oriade, reportedly said Adoke
abused his office in granting OPL 245 to Shell and ENI in 2011.

But, the former minister has described the claim as “ridiculous,
ill-informed and full of ignorance” which Nigerians should treat
with disdain.

“OPL 245 was not even awarded to Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd by
President Goodluck Jonathan, under whose administration I served as
Attorney-General. It was awarded by Gen. Sani Abacha in 1998.

“It was revoked by former President Olusegun Obasanjo who later
decided to return the oil block to Malabu after an out-of-court
settlement.

“The only thing I did as AGF was to advise President Jonathan
that legally speaking, the Consent Judgment reached by Obasanjo was
valid and subsisting and should be respected,” Adoke r said.

According to him, at that time, Shell was making an arbitral
claim of $2 billion against Nigeria over President Obasanjo’s
decision to return the oil block to Malabu in 2006.

He said he should be commended for helping Nigeria avoid such a
huge fine.

Adoke said: “Nevertheless, it is nothing but unadulterated
mischief by the EFCC to say I am being tried for granting an oil
block to Malabu. Even a primary school pupil knows that the
Attorney-General does not award oil blocks.

“All oil blocks are awarded by the President on the advice of
the Ministry of Petroleum. It is part of the evil agenda and
vendetta against me that I would be accused of awarding an oil
block, as the EFCC shamelessly claimed in their bizarre press
release.

“JP Morgan, which made the payments to Malabu, did not mention
by name in court as one of those who authorised the payment. These
are now public documents. I was not a signatory to the account. I
had no powers to order payments.

“All I gave was legal advice on the letters of the Resolution
Agreement, but EFCC’s puppet masters were so desperate to come
after me that they painted me as corrupt and attributed all the
powers I didn’t have to me.

“The Federal High Court under the Hon. Justice Binta Nyako ruled
that I was not liable for carrying out lawful presidential orders,
but the EFCC has now assumed the role of interpreting the court
judgment as it suits their whims and caprices, even openly showing
absolute disrespect for the office of the AGF.”

Adoke said it was “shameful that vultures have taken over the
system and are now lording it over the constitution” in a democracy
that thrives on law and order.

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