– Nigeria’s former attorney general, Bello Adoke says, he will return to Nigeria if he is assured that he won’t be harmed by the government
– Adoke is wanted by the EFCC for alleged fraud that marred the transfer of OPL 245 licence from Malabu Oil and Gast Limited to Royal Dutch Shell and Italy’s ENI
– The former attorney general says he would remain in the Netherlands, where he says he has been studying since 2015
Nigeria’s former attorney general, Bello Adoke, who is wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly benefiting in the $1.3 billion Malabu oil scam has said he may not return home until he gets some concessions from the Nigerian government.
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Bello Adoke, who served during the administration of Goodluck Jonathan told The Cable in an interview published on Tuesday, April 18, that he would only return to Nigeria if he was assured that he won’t be harmed.
“I will definitely come back, if I have the assurance that they will not harm me, they will not humiliate me any further, they will respect the laws of the land,” Mr Adoke said.
Adoke is wanted by the EFCC for allegedly benefiting from the Malabu scandal.
The EFCC has accused Adoke, who was AGF from 2010-2015, of alleged fraud that marred the transfer of OPL 245 licence from Malabu Oil and Gast Limited to Royal Dutch Shell and Italy’s ENI.
Adoke was also mentioned by Italian prosecutors among 11 others, including ex-petroleum minister Dan Etete and Shell and ENI officials, of wrongdoings when the deal was struck in 2011.
The anti-graft agency had said the former AGF is on the run, and earlier this month, sought a court order to compel him to appear for trial.
But Mr Adoke said he would remain in the Netherlands, where he said he has been studying since 2015, unless there are competent assurances from Nigerian authorities that he won’t be humiliated.
“If I am arrested and
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He, however, expressed doubts that the prevailing political atmosphere in the country could afford him such privileges after his return.
“But I will tell you something: that is not the environment that exists in Nigeria today. That is where my fear lies.
“Also, I cannot underestimate the extent to which those after me can go considering the enormous power and influence they have in the government of today,” Mr. Adoke noted.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has said it is preparing to summon former president, Goodluck Jonathan, to explain his role in the controversial award of OPL 245 oil block licence, which is famously known as the Malabu deal.
Premium Times reports that Razak Atunwa, chairman of the house committee on justice who leads an ad-hoc panel investigating the $1.3 billion Malabu oil deal, said on Monday, April 10, that efforts have commenced towards summoning the former president to testify.
Atunwa’s comments came a day after ZENITHBLOG.com reported that Ednan Agaev, a Russian middleman who helped negotiate the deal, said Goodluck Jonathan, probably received as much as $200 million to approve the controversial $1.3 billion sale of OPL 245 oil field.
The disclosure was made by Italian prosecutors in court documents which were gotten from investigation by Italian authorities into the deal.
In this video below, Jake Epelle, the founder of the Albino Foundation, speaks to ZENITHBLOG.com about the hardships experienced by albinos living in Africa.
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