A CLOSURE ON THE OPL 245 SAGA

The nation should commence commercial operations of the endowed oil block

The recent judgment of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in the case between the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and a former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke and six others should put a closure on an unfortunate saga concerning Oil Operating Licence (OPL) 245 which has lasted more than two decades. In his ruling, Justice Abubakar Idris Kutigi said the EFCC failed to establish a prima facie case against the seven defendants in the case. He discharged and acquitted all of them. Aside from Adoke, other defendants were Aliyu Abubakar, a businessman; Rasky Gbinigie, company secretary of Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd; Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd itself; Nigeria Agip Exploration (NAE); Shell Ultra Deep Nigeria (SNUD) Limited; and Shell Nigeria Exploration Production Company (SNEPCO) Limited.

The seven defendants had been charged to court in January 2020 over allegations of bribery, conspiracy, and fraud in the OPL 245 settlement agreements through which Malabu transferred its entire interest in the oil block to Shell and NAE for $1.1 billion in 2011 during the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. The oil companies also paid $210 million as signature bonus to Nigeria at the time. But after the transaction was consummated, international anti-corruption campaigners started raising issues on the propriety of Malabu’s deal with the multinational oil company. They also made allegations of corruption and fraud against certain Nigerian politicians and public officials.

In throwing out EFCC’s case against the defendants, the FCT High Court cited lack of evidence before ruling that proceedings could not go on full trial based on what was presented before the court. Justice Kutigi also reserved harsh words for the EFCC, asking if he was expected to manufacture evidence for the commission and chiding them for wasting four years over the case. He said the witnesses presented by the EFCC did not speak to the substance of the case and the commission itself did not provide critical evidence on which the case could stand. He stated that the agency made allegations lacking in specifics and failing to connect defendants with their alleged crimes.

Perhaps the most damaging outcome of the case was the contradiction the judge pointed out in the allegation against Adoke. The evidence presented by the EFCC as proof of bribery before Justice Kutigi was the same one presented before Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court as proof of a loan taken from Unity Bank by the former AGF. While it was charged as bribery before Justice Kutigi, it was presented before Justice Ekwo as a refund of mortgage by Adoke. The contradiction was noticed by Justice Kutigi, who dismissed the charge, even commending the EFCC counsel for admitting the lack of evidence in his response to the no case submissions.

There is a lot to unpack in the OPL 245 trial and we hope that the EFCC would take lessons from it on the need for diligent prosecution based on hard evidence. But now that litigation has been exhausted in Nigeria and foreign jurisdictions, the logical way forward is for the commencement of commercial operations of the enormously endowed oil block. The saga has caused Nigeria significant losses of time and investments. At a stage, it looked as if the oil block was jinxed because of lack of movement since 2001, when it was revoked without explanation by the federal government.

The prolonged litigation might have slowed down the development of the block and impacted negatively on the sector and the Nigerian economy in general. But it is better late than never. All the relevant political, administrative, and operational efforts must now be harnessed to progress into the next phase.