Justice James Tsoho of the Federal High Court
sitting in Maitama, Abuja today Thursday January 26, 2017 gave an order ceding
control of the lucrative oil block, Oil Prospecting License, OPL 245, to the
Federal Government pending investigation and prosecution of suspects in the
$1.1billion Malabu Oil scam.
The order followed an ex parte motion by the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, requesting that “ the property
known as Oil Prospecting License (OPL 245) be managed by the Department of
Petroleum Resources on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria pending the
conclusion of investigation and prosecution”, of companies and individuals
named in connection with acts of conspiracy bribery, official corruption and money laundering
in the Malabu oil scam.
The controversial OPL 245, was said to have been
acquired from the Federal Government by Malabu Oil and Gas Limited in hazy
circumstances in 1998 and afterwards sold to oil giants, Shell and Agip, in
opague transactions.
The EFCC had on December 20, 2016, charged nine
suspects, including a former attorney general and minister of justice, Mohammed
Adoke, with respect to the $1.1bn scam.
Other accused persons named in the charges filed
by the EFCC before a Federal High Court in Abuja, were Dan Etete, Aliyu Abubakar, Malabu Oil & Gas
Ltd, Rocky Top Resource Ltd, Imperial Union Ltd, Novel Properties & Dev.
Co. Ltd, Group Construction Ltd, Megatech Engineering Ltd.
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