The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has dropped the charges of fraud, bribery and conspiracy against former attorney-general of the federation, Mohammed Adoke over Malabu scandal, positing that it does not have evidence to support the charges.
The anti-graft agency’s position is in response to Adoke’s no-case submission which he filed, because he was listed as the first defendant in the charges related to the OPL 245 transaction of 2011.
The EFCC had charged Adoke before the FCT high court, Abuja in 2020, alleging that he collected a gratification of N300 million from Abubakar over the OPL 245 resolution.
He was amongst others accused of conspiring with other defendants to “commit the offence of public servant disobeying direction of law with intent to cause injury or to save a person from punishment or property from forfeiture”.
However, Adoke denied all allegations, maintaining that the N300 million being classified as bribery by the EFCC was a mortgage he took from Unity Bank Plc in 2012.
He said it was transferred by the bank directly to the account of Abubakar, a property developer, and was refunded by Abubakar in 2013 when Adoke could not come up with his equity contribution.
While the EFCC informed the FCT high court that it would not oppose the application, it also stated that it would not oppose the no-case applications by the other defendants, Aliyu Abubakar, Rasky Gbinigie (Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd company secretary), Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd, Nigeria Agip Exploration Ltd, Shell Ultra Deep Nigeria Ltd, and Shell Nigeria Exploration Production Company Ltd (SNEPCo), over some of the charges.
However, the EFCC said that Gbinigie has a case to answer over the alleged forgery of company documents to remove the name of Mohammed Abacha as a director of Malabu Oil & Gas.
