Malabu Scam: EFCC Slams Fresh Charges On Adoke

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has re-arraigned the former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Mohammed Bello Adoke, and controversial businessman, Abubakar Bello, before the Federal high court in Abuja on a 14 count amended charge over their involvement with the Malabu Oil scam.

Adoke and Bello were brought before Justice I.E. Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja on Tuesday, on a 14-count amended charge of money laundering to the tune of over Six Million United States Dollars ($6,000,000).

It will be recalled that the former AGF was first arraigned alongside the controversial businessman on February 10, 2020.

The amended charges, raised Adoke charges from six to seven while Abubakar's was raised from one to seven-count charge.

The duo were accused of making payments into the former AGF’s accounts in 2013, which, according to the commission, is a violation of various provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.

Count one of the new charges against Adoke read: “That you Mohammed Bello Adoke, sometime in September 2013, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, made a cash payment of the sum of $2,267,400.00 (Two Million, Two Hundred and Sixty-Seven Thousand, Four Hundred United States Dollars) to one Rislaundeen Muhammed, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to the combined effects of Section 16(1) (d) and of Section 1(a) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011(as amended) and punishable under Section 16(2)(b) of the same Act.”

The new charge against Abubakar read “That you Aliyu Abubakar, sometime in September 2013, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, accepted a cash payment of the sum of $4,000,000.00 (Four Million United States Dollars) from Farmans Holdings Limited, through Abdulhakeem Uthman Mustapha, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to the combined effects of Section 16(1)(d) and of Section1(a) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 (as amended) and punishable under Section 16(2)(b) of the same Act.”

Both defendants pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

However, the court adopted the same bail condition granted to the duo on February 10, in the sum of N50m with one surety in like sum.

The case has been adjourned till August 11, 12 and 13, 2020 for the commencement of trial.

Following reports of how almost half of the $1.1 billion paid by Shell and Eni in the controversial OPL 245 deal handled by Adoke and some other officials of the Goodluck Jonathan regime ended in accounts controlled by Abubakar in 2013, the EFCC had been pursuing Adoke for his alleged role in the controversial transfer of Nigeria’s OPL 245 oil field.

The oil multinationals paid the money through the Nigerian government to Malabu, a company then controlled by Dan Etete, a former petroleum minister who is currently on the run.