Malabu Scam: Federal High Court grants oil block’s forfeiture

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital has granted an order of interim forfeiture of an oil well being managed by Shell petroleum Development Company (SPDC) pending the conclusion of its investigation and prosecution of all identified culprits by the The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The order was granted following EFCC’s  claim that it has conducted a painstaking investigation into the case both in Nigeria and offshore which revealed that Malabu Oil and Gas Limited and Shell allegedly secured OPL245 through fraudulent scheme involving high scale bribery and corruption by top management of the company.

The EFCC on Thursday explained how some highly placed Nigerians, including ex-ministers and multinational oil companies allegedly defrauded the country of billions of dollars through the now notorious Malabu oil deal.

The commission also revealed how the former Attorney- General of the Federation (AGF), Mohammed Adoke, allegedly aided the payment of $1.2b bribe to ex- Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dan Etete, using his position in the President Goodluck Jonathan’s government.

It said further findings revealed that the federal government was defrauded by and Malabu Oil and Gas Limited by under- paying $210m as signature bonus on the OPL 245.

The commission also shed light into how the former Head of State, late Gen Sani Abacha, Etete (who was Petroleum Minister under Abacha) and Hassan Adamu (Nigerian Ambassador to the United States under Abacha) allegedly used their positions to influence the unlawful allocation of OPL 245 to Malabu Oil.

After listening to EFCC’s lawyer, Jonson Ojogbane, moved the motion, Justice John Tosho granted the two interim orders of forfeiture sought by the commission