After weeks of disappearing from public discourse, the controversial N175 billion oil bloc deal in which some top government officials and a local firm, Malabu Oil and Gas were fingered returned to the plate again today as the Senate resolved to commence investigation into the sale of the OPL 245 oil bloc to the firm and the sharing of the slush fund.

The Senate resolution to probe the less transparent deal in which the country’s controversial Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke featured prominently followed a motion sponsored by the Deputy Majority Leader, Abdul Ningi and 46 other senators.

While justifying the need for the probe, Ningi had reminded his colleaques that Nigeria signed up to the Global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in 2003, began implementation in 2004 and took a step further with the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) Act 2007, adding that the objective of the Act as contained in Section 2(a and c) of the Act, included ensuring due process and transparency in payments made by all extractive industry companies to the Federal Government and statutory recipients.

The Act, it was also noted, seeks to eliminate all forms of corrupt practices in the determination, payment, receipts and posting of revenue accruing to the federal government from the extractive industry companies. The motion expressed concerns over recent developments as regards “circumstances surrounding a tripartite transaction involving the Federal Governemnt, Shell/Agip as well as Malabu Oil and Gas Limited in respect of Oil Bloc referred to as OPL 245”, as well as “legal and ethical issues surrounding the transaction and pattern of distribution of proceeds to beneficiaries which could make Nigeria a subject of sanctions by EITI if nothing is done to investigate the weighty allegations that appear to have violated the dictates of the global initiative.”

Spirited efforts made by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Water Resources, Senator Heineken Lokpobri from Bayelsa state to shoot down the motion proved abortive. He had argued that the senate should not get involved in an issue it knew little or nothing about.

His words, “I rise to oppose this motion in its root, stem and branches. The Senate as the highest making body should not be made to go on a voyage of this nature. There must be sufficient fact to make Senate decide whether there would be investigation or not. The first issue is whether you can sell what you do not have because the bloc does not belong to the federal government and it cannot sell what it does not have.”

Lokpobiri who appeared desperate not to allow the motion sail through insisted that the controversial oil bloc was allotted to certain individuals by the administration of late General Sani Abacha and later revoked by President Olusegun Obasanjo.

“When Chief Olusegun Obasanjo came into power, he purportedly revoked those licences and these companies went to court and the court declared the revocation null and void and as such, the oil blocs were restored to the companies including Malabu Oil and Gas. The truth was that when Obasanjo revoked this, he gave it to Shell in 2002”, he had argued.

Ruling on the opposition to the motion, Senate President, Mr David Mark declared that there was no crime if the Senate decides to investigate the entire transaction with a view to putting the controversy to rest, stressing that “I know close to nothing about oil blocs and what I want to ask is whether there is anything wrong with Senate Committee investigating these facts and bringing them to us.”

With the declaration, the Senate agreed to probe the deal in which billions of naira were said to have been wired into the bank accounts of top government officials using known proxies. The Senate will tomorrow begin its 2012 annual recess and expected to reconvene on September 17.

alaoeri: Probe! Probe!! Probe!!! Nothing tangible out of it, mstcheeeeew.

y2kaustin: Gej,why why why!

bayooooooo: Malabu! Malabu!! Malabu!!!
Malabu! Malabu!! Malabu!!!
Malabu! Malabu!! Malabu!!!
Malabu! Malabu!! Malabu!!!
Malabu! Malabu!! Malabu!!!

GEJ is more than corrupt, he is the corruption that all Nigerians must fight.

Demdem: The senate is not to be trusted. Subsidy probe since Oct 2011 is still ongoing. Wtf.

Very soon some Foools will come out to declare that the retardeen facilitated the probe.

Kobojunkie:

Wait a second . . . subsidy probe started in January of this year. The Administration was supposed to start a probe last year, at request of congress but refused, if I remember correctly.

Kobojunkie:

I don't believe Malabu has anything to do with the current president.

The presidency, his associates and some ministers have been named in a monumental money laundering scandal, one of the most elaborate in Nigeria's history.

PREMIUM TIMES can reveal today that the N155billion secretly paid to convicted money launderer, Dan Etete, by the Federal Government, on the orders of President Goodluck Jonathan, was actually a slush fund, with a huge chunk of it ending in bank accounts of cronies and business associates of government officials and at least one individual with links to Mr. Jonathan.

Our investigation also indicates that in order to cover up what is clearly one of the most elaborate corruption schemes in Nigeria’s history, the president tapped the junior minister in the finance ministry, Yerima Ngama, and Attorney General Mohammed Adoke to hurriedly transfer the funds to Mr. Etete on August 16, 2011, a day before the Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, assumed office.

Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala was not available Friday to comment on her knowledge of the transaction. Her spokesperson, Paul Nwabuikwu, said she was away in Zimbabwe on an official engagement.

This website had on Monday reported how the Nigerian subsidiaries of two multinational oil companies Nigeria Agip Exploration Limited (Agip) and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (Shell) paid $1.1billion (N155billion) to the Federal Government in April last year for onward transmission to Malabu Oil whose principal is Mr. Etete.

Our subsequent investigations later showed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had indeed investigated the deal, concluding that the transaction pointed at a “cloudy scene associated with fraudulent dealings.”

The EFCC investigation also clearly established that Mr. Etete’s Malabu only served as a money laundering machine, as substantial parts of the funds was later transferred to various accounts owned by “real and artificial persons” suspected to have links with the presidency and other government officials.

Presidency sources familiar with the matter say the EFCC intimated President Jonathan and Mr. Adoke of its findings.

“But I can tell you that the investigation has suffered a setback since the presidency got wind of it,” one of our sources said. “There is high-level complicity in the deal and there is therefore high-level cover up. The report is gathering dust on the president’s desk.”

Mr. Jonathan’s spokesperson, Reuben Abati, could not be reached on his mobile telephones to comment for this story Friday. And so also was Mr. Adoke. Mr. Ngama did not return calls to his mobile telephone.

Relying on court papers in the United States (where some consultants have sued Malabo for breach of contract), checks at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and on its own investigations, the EFCC established that “a prima facie case of conspiracy, breach of trust, theft and money laundering can be established against some real and artificial persons.”

The beneficiaries

At the heart of this brazen theft of public funds is one Abubakar Aliyu, a man whom top presidency and EFCC sources described as “Mr. Corruption” and who has very close business ties with Diepreiye Alamiesegha, convicted former governor of Bayelsa state.

Mr. Alamiesegha, the self-styled governor-general of the Ijaw nation, is the man who picked Mr. Jonathan as his running mate in the 1999 governorship election in Bayelsa state and whom Mr. Jonathan succeeded in office after the former was impeached over corruption charges.

The disgraced former governor played a major role in Mr. Jonathan’s election last year, serving as both an adviser and a top campaign official.

Mr. Aliyu, through companies co-owned by him, received direct payments of $523mn (N81bn) from the largesse. Investigators believe that the businessman, introduced to the president by Mr. Alamieyeseigha, was Mr. Jonathan’s front in the transaction.

Mr. Aliyu is however not new to corrupt deals. One of his companies was recently found to be involved in a shady deal which involved the buying of a landed property from a government agency (NITEL) for N1billion and then reselling the same property to another government agency (CBN) for N21billion.

He allegedly used his links with late President Musa Yar’Adua and President Jonathan to broker the deals, and then reportedly paid kickbacks to some government officials.

Mr. Adoke, the current Justice Minister was named in that deal too just as sources believe he played a major role in the sharing of the N155billion largesse.

Sharing the money

On August 16, 2011, Mr. Adoke and the Minister of State for Finance, Yerima Ngama, coordinated the payment of a first tranche of $401.5million (N60billion) into a First Bank account 2018288005 belonging to Malabu.

Another $400millionn (N60billion) was, based on the duo’s instructions, transferred into a Malabu Bank PHB (now Keystone bank) account 3610042472 from a Nigerian government account with JP Morgan International Bank. The balance of the funds was reportedly lodged into Mr. Etete’s account with Zenith Bank.

Immediately Malabu received the money, the distribution began. Rocky Top Resources Limited, co-owned by Mr. Aliyu received $336 million (N50bn) from the Malabu Keystone Bank deposit. Other companies that got money from the Malabu curious transfers include A-Group Construction Company, also co-owned by Mr. Aliyu. It received $157mn (N24bn), while Novel Property and Development Limited, also co-owned by Mr. Aliyu got $30 million (N4.5bn).

Companies not linked to Mr. Aliyu but got money from Malabu include Mega Tech Engr Co. Ltd, which received $180 million (N27bn) and Imperial Union Limited, $34million (N5.1bn).

Sources say these companies, like Mr. Aliyu’s, simply acted as fronts for political office holders, who helped to facilitate the transfer, as they have no basis to receive such huge sums of money from Malabu. The EFCC has also not identified what task these companies performed to deserve the payments.

“Reasons for this payment is yet to be ascertained,” the commission said.

Long before the largesse was shared however, Malabu had become a company renowned for shady deals.

A history of fraud

According to investigators, through “conspiracy, forgery, uttering forged document, criminal misappropriation and money laundering,” Mr. Etete and Malabu Oil had been involved in illegalities since its formation.

Formed on April 24, 1998, Malabu Oil had three shareholders: Mohammed Sani (Abacha, son of late military dictator Sani Abacha), Kweku Amafagha (who was representing Dan Etete on the board), and Hassan Hindu (representing her husband, Hassan Lawal, a former Nigerian High Commissioner to the UK). Mr. Sani owned 10 million of the 20 million shares in the company; Mr. Etete six million and Mr. Hassan, four million.

Five days after the company was formed and registered at the CAC, it got two oil blocks awarded to it by the then military government: OPL 245 and OPL 214.

Mr. Etete was petroleum minister at the time.

Controversy however trailed the oil blocks as President Olusegun Obasanjo, in 2001, revoked the allocations, giving OPL 245 to Shell.

After several court cases in Nigeria and overseas between Malabu, Shell, and the Federal Government, the oil blocks were re-awarded to Malabu in 2010.

Scheming out Abacha

Following a secret resolution on the oil block with the Federal Government, Mr. Etete decided to edge out Mr. Abacha from the ownership of Malabu. It is not clear if this is one of the conditions the Federal Government gave to Mr. Etete during the negotiations.

However at an extraordinary general meeting of Malabu on June 9, 2010, Mr. Abacha and a company related to him, Pecos Energy, were removed as shareholders of Malabu. The new owners (believed to be fronts for Mr. Etete) became Munamuma Seidougha and Amaran Joseph, both of whom had 10 million shares each.

These changes, the EFCC stated “gave rise to a lot of moral and ethical question that can necessitate an objective and full blown investigation into the matter.”

Mr. Abacha however fought back fiercely. Sensing that he had been schemed out and aware that Mr. Etete was already negotiating with Shell and Agip, he decided to act.

The Shell, Agip, FG, Etete conspiracy

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that Ednan Agaev, an international counsel hired by Malabu told the Supreme Court of New York in an affidavit that he was appointed by Malabu to find an investor for OPL245.

“One John Coplestone of SHELL, a party to the negotiation informed him that Mohammed Sani (Abacha) is laying claim over OPL 245,” the EFCC stated. An AGIP official also told Mr. Agaev that “in view of the new claim by Mohammed Sani (Abacha), a direct deal with Malabu would not be possible.”

Mr. Agaev then informed Mr. Etete of the new development and suggested a way out.

To put off Mr. Sani (Abacha) from realizing his claim, “The FGN (should) take back the oil block from Malabu, transfer the rights to ENI AGIP/Shell and pay Malabu a compensation from the payments made by ENI AGIP and Shell,”

The oil companies agreed accepted the proposal. “By the end of March 2011, the FGN seemed to have acted with the suggestion,” the EFCC said.

This new evidence gathered by the EFCC contradicts the claims of Shell, who through its spokesman, Precious Okolobo, denied knowing that Malabu was to be the recipient of its payment.

“Shell was not aware that that money was to be paid to Malabu,” Mr. Okolobo had told PREMIUM TIMES.

Demdem:

The senate started their own probe far before January this year. We are still awaiting their report.

Am mobile now, would have given u the link. In the meantime, search previous nairaland topics or Google senate subsidy probe, saraki or better still the topic ;how subsidy went from N300b to N1.3T.

The Federal Government on Sunday responded to a scandal allegedly involving President Goodluck Jonathan, two ministers, a former minister of petroleum and two multinational oil firms. The response, which came in the form of a statement issued by the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Mohammed Adoke (SAN), came almost a week after the scandal had first broken.

However, the statement was silent on the claim in the report that the transaction was facilitated by President Jonathan and senior government officials who might have benefitted from the deal.

Global Witness, an international non-governmental organisation that promotes the protection of human rights and the sustainability of natural resources, had alleged in a report that the Federal Government round-tripped a sum of $1.092bn for oil block OPL 245.

The report entitled, “Shell’s obscure payments kill its case for weak US and EU transparency laws”, alleges Nigerian subsidiaries of both Shell and ENI paid $1.092bn (N155bn) to the Federal Government for OPL 245. It further says that senior government officials, at the behest of President Jonathan, then paid the entire N155bn to Malabu Oil and Gas, a company owned by Mr. Dan Etete, a former oil minister under the late General Sani Abacha.

An online medium, PREMIUM TIMES, last week, had stated that the money was later shared among government officials and some private individuals.

But Adoke, in the statement, said the allegation was without basis, adding that the government only paid the role of a “mere facilitator of an amicable settlement between two disputing parties over a long standing dispute with obvious economic implications for the country.” He described reports to the contrary as ““misrepresentations and obvious mischief in reporting the role.”

After its efforts to get government officials to speak on the matter proved abortive, The PUNCH, on Friday, had reported that government was unwilling to comment on the matter.

But Adoke, in the statement, argued that the Federal Government and its agencies should not be dragged into a purely commercial dispute.

According to him, Malabu and other indigenous oil and gas companies were allocated oil blocks which they were expected to develop in partnership with international oil companies as technical partners.

He further explained, “Malabu was allocated OPL 245 in April, 1998 and in accordance with the terms of the grant, it appointed SNUD as its Technical Partner.

“The two companies executed relevant agreements including a joint operation agreement in 2001. Records indicate that Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited took 40 per cent participating interests in the venture in a farm-in- agreement and also signed agreement with Malabu as its technical partner for the venture.”

He stated that although Malabu was issued a licence for Block 245 in April 2001, the same licence was subsequently revoked by the Federal Government on July 2, 2001.

Adoke said that Exxon-Mobil and Shell were invited in April 2002 to bid for OPL 245 despite subsisting contractual agreements between Malabu and SNUD with respect to OPL 245.

The minister said, “Malabu was dissatisfied with the revocation and contended that the circumstances leading to the revocation of its licence on Block 245 was less than transparent and smacked of inducement and connivance from SNUD, its technical partner.

“Malabu also contended that the subsequent re-award of OPL 245 to SNUD by the Federal Government was done under questionable circumstances. It then petitioned the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum to look into the matter.”

He noted that the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum had found no rational basis for the revocation, reprimanded Shell for its complicity and directed the Federal Government to restore OPL 245 to Malabu, the original allotee.

The minister disclosed, “Malabu also instituted Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/420/2003, before the Federal High Court (FHC), Abuja to enforce its claim to OPL 245. Although the suit was struck out by the FHC, Malabu lodged Appeal No. CA/A/99M/2006 before the Court of Appeal, Abuja, Division.

“During the pendency of the Appeal, an amicable settlement was entered into between Malabu and the Federal Government and in compliance with the terms of settlement executed by the Parties on the 30th of November 2006, OPL 245 was fully and completely restored to Malabu in consideration of its withdrawal of the Appeal.”