₦airaland Forum

The movie is based on a true life story that mirrors the life of General Ibrahim Babangida (Rtd), former Military President of Nigeria.

It tells the story of the annulment of the 1993 Presidential election held in Nigeria.

The movie is written, produced and directed by Obi Emelonye.

It is scheduled to be unveiled in the 02 arena in London, United Kingdom on June 12, 2021.

The biopic movie has Nigerian stars like Okey Bakassi, Enyinna Nwigwe, Julius Agu, Ali Nuhu to mention but a few.

The tickets are already on sale on eventbrite.com, and can be purchased by searching "Badamasi" on the site.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVXXj3bFGJw

...Urges Bawa to prosecute indicted officials

Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, on Sunday, called on the President, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), to resign or be impeached by the National Assembly over worsening insecurity in the country and unparalleled corruption in his government.

Frank in a statement in Abuja, said the call has become necessary following Buhari’s colossal failure to fulfill the primary purpose of Government which is to ensure security and welfare for the people.

He told Buhari to listen to the voice of reason from the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), composed of his kinsmen, who have told him the home truth for his own good.

He insisted that insecurity has not only worsened under the rudderless APC’s administration, monumental corruption has become its second name.

He called on the 9th National Assembly to shed its rubber stamp toga and impeach Buhari, if he fails to resign, and thereby save the country from imminent cataclysmic catastrophe.

He said: “It is obvious, even to the blind, deaf and dumb, that Buhari and the APC’s have failed to deliver on their cardinal campaign promises in 2015 which is to fight corruption and insecurity due to incompetence.

“Besides, Buhari and his government have outlived their usefulness through serial constitutional breaches, unmitigated corruption and inability to secure and cater for the welfare of the people.

“Insecurity has worsened to unbearable levels while unbridled corruption has continued to dominate all facets of the Buhari’s administration.

“This is why Buhari must of necessity listen to his kinsmen who have advised him to resign or face imminent impeachment by the National Assembly.”

He described as mind-boggling the level of corruption that today permeates all aspect of governance without Buhari holding his thieving appointees to account or allowing the anti-graft agencies to bring them to justice.

He described the current allegations of corruption against the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi,
his wife, Judith, the suspended Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Ms. Hadiza Bala-Usman, Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva and Buhari’s in-law, Gimba Yau Kumo, as nauseating and an international embarrassment to Nigerians at home and in diaspora.

He also called on the Chairman of EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, to ensure all Buhari’s appointees with corruption allegations against them, including Amaechi, Sylva and Ms. Bala-Usman are prosecuted to prove their culpability or otherwise.

“It is worthy to note that Nigerians, especially the young population have great expectations in the capacity and ability of Bawa to carry on a diligent investigation and prosecution, if need be.

“It is our expectation, that unlike before, under your leadership these revelations will not be swept under the carpet.

“Take this as one of the very first test of your office and I pray on-behalf of Nigerians that you would not fail us as Nigerians.

“It is pertinent to note that the youth constituency whom you represent feels more of the impact of corrupt practices in our country.

“The lack of basic amenities, jobs, good health care systems, e.t.c, are as a result of corrupt practices which rear their ugly heads in bad governance. Therefore, represent us well and be a good ambassador. We believe in you, do not let us down!”

He said failure by Bawa to prosecute all public office holders with corruption allegations would be tantamount to a betrayal of trust that Nigerians have reposed in his leadership.

He added: “The recent resolution of the Southern Governors’ Forum to ban open cattle grazing and call for urgent restructuring which has been endorsed by the Southern Senators’ Forum, religious leaders, civil society organizations and Nigerians all point to the fact that the time is up for the APC’s administration in general and Buhari in particular.

“The agitations for secession in the South-East and South-West, the increasing level of kidnapping, incessant killing of security personnel and destruction of their structures are signs that the continued stay by Buhari and the APC can only bring more crises, division and calamity in the country.

“It is time for Buhari to resign because if something urgent is not done, Senators now pretending to back Buhari at this ominious hours may have no where to stay to continue their legislative duties. A stitch in time saves nine.”

On Friday, 7th day of May 2021, the leadership of the Law Students’ Association of Nigeria (LAWSAN) ably led by its National President, Dr. Blessing Agbomhere paid a courtesy visit to former National President of Nigeria Labour Congress and former Governor of Edo State, His Excellency Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomole to discuss its much anticipated “Rule of Law Summit “, scheduled to hold on July 15, 2021.


In attendance were Sen. Ibrahim Adamu Ibrahim, the Chief Clerk of the LAWSAN Senate, President of Female Law Students’ Forum, Unyime Stephen Ifon, Amuga Jesse Williams and Utalor Chukwudubem, President and Secretary of Binghman University LSS.

While the former Governor was very happy to receive the leadership of LAWSAN, he was quick to point out the successes of the judicial arm of government inpromoting the rule of law in Nigeria.


In his words, “the judiciary is an ‘audacious judiciary’, considering the fact that the judiciary has proven in various court decisions to be the last hope of the common man”.


Among other issues the National Leader discussed were the need for citizens’ participation in securing Nigeria, protection of the rule of law and the importance of keeping a united Nigeria that works for all, while also cautioning those calling for extra-judicial intervention.


In conclusion, the National President of LAWSAN, Dr Blessing Agbomhere thanked the leader for his words of wisdom and advice, noting that the anticipated summit was borne out of the passion to proffer solutions to the issues threatening the sovereignty of Nigeria and promote adherence to the rule of law for the good governance of the nation.



Source: National Oracle Magazine
https://nationaloracle.com/rule-of-law-summit-lawsan-pays-courtesy-visit-to-comrade-adams-oshiomhole/

……calls on State Governors to call for Buhari’s resignation



On Monday, featuring on Plus Politics Africa, Timi Frank, a former spokesman of the ruling party in Nigeria, All Progressives Congress (APC) has questioned Buhari’s military credentials and expressed doubt on his ability to secure Nigeria.

The political activist said; "It is very clear with the conflicting reports within the presidential aides, that should show you we are in a confused government. When you start seeing conflicting reports from the presidential villa, this is the first time we are seeing this kind of embarrassing situation, that shows you they themselves, they are confused, they are not united, they are not together, and that is why you can see under the watch of General Buhari Nigeria cannot be united, because if he cannot unite his own house, unite his own staff, how can he unite Nigerians? So it is very clear that this is just a very embarrassing situation. In the history of Nigeria we have never seen where before today, the presidential villa or maybe the Aso Rock has been burgled as they claimed, they say it was burgled.”

"And that is to tell you very clearly that this Government is very incompetent, this Government is not serious to tackle the issues, but again, I want to tell you that what has happened, for me, whichever way around, it is bad, but with the circumstances we have found ourselves today, this scenario has shown clearly that what they are suffering from today, is the same situation of what they have put Nigerians, because today I can tell you clearly, there is poverty in the land, there is unemployment, there is kidnapping, there is hunger, the economy is zero. So that shows you very clearly that the people of Nigeria are tired and now they have decided to take the struggle straight to the villa," the Beyalsa-born former Spokesman of the APC said.

“Our security system has collapsed. The situation ought to make them sit up with security issues” he further added.

He lamented the Aso Rock burglary incident, saying, "If the government had appointed competent hands, we would not be seeing all these kind of shameful embarrassing acts,"

He questioned Buhari's military background and credentials. He said former President Jonathan who is not a military man did better than Buhari who is said to have a military background. "President cannot go to Daura and stay for two weeks," he further noted.

He said Buhari is not in charge, insisting that Buhari is overwhelmed.

He insisted that just as how late President Yar’Adua agreed to being rigged into office in 2007 and apologised to Nigerians and assured electoral reforms, Buhari should do the same.

Speaking on insecurity in Nigeria, commenting on the meetings by the Southwest governors, he commended the governors for a job well done, for standing together inspite of party difference.

He urged them to go beyond the communique, saying he wants to see actions, he wants them to call out Buhari, telling him he has failed as President. He charged the Southern governors to tell Buhari that he has failed.

Timi Frank stressed that what is happening today is beyond APC or PDP. He said the people dying are not just muslims alone or christians alone, they are not APC alone or PDP alone.

He tagged Buhari's call to the USA to use their military to secure Nigeria, as a sign that Buhari has lost confidence in his own ability to secure the country. He reminded Governors that they are not representing their parties, they are representing their people.

He called the government of Buhari, a confused government. He called this Buhari's government, the worst in Nigeria. He said all the sector of Buhari government is very corrupt starting from the military sector. He recalled Amaechi's accusation at NPA former MD of looting billions of Naira. He also quoted Timipre Silva, state minister for petroleum on the list of corrupt persons in Buhari’s cabinet.

He called himself a realist, and not a critic. He said he is just a political activist and not a member of any political party. He disclosed that he has urged the two minority leaders in National Assembly to commence Buhari's impeachment proceedings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJYL0o2MQaw

Senator representing Imo West Senatorial district in the 9th Senate, Senator Rochas Okorocha has said that he sees a new Nigeria rising soon. The ideas of our leaders have finished but Nigeria can never finish. I want to urge all of you to begin to speak well of this country, there is power in the spoken word.

He spoke when he attended Dominion Chapel International Church on Sunday.

The former Imo Governor said “I belong to that class of our nation that you all say has failed our nation and I take responsibility. Nigeria is not finished and Nigeria can never be finished”.

He cautioned men of God saying; “And you men of God and women of God it is incumbent on you to be positive with our nation because your positive word can help our nation to a great extent”.

He lamented the state of the nation, saying; “I do know that our nation is going through a very difficult moment and that all is not well with our nation. The bloodletting in our nation has become more than that of the civil war and Nigerians now live in fear with poverty and injustice, I agree with you”.

The APC stalwart expressed optimism that inspite of the challenges currently bedeviling the nation, a new Nigeria will rise soon. He charged the clergymen and clergywomen to rise up to their responsibilities as religious leaders.

He said unity is the panacea to the country’s challenges. He concluded his message by preaching tolerance as it is a virtue in the Christian faith.



Attached is a YouTube link to the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-3Ip0jJgWU

...Seeks US, UK, UN, EU support to surmount challenges

Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, has blamed the nation’s unabating security calamities on President Muhammadu Buhari and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

This is even as he wrote a letter to members of the international community, such as, United States of America (US), United Kingdom (UK), United Nations (UN) and European Union (EU), urging them to assist Nigeria overcome her heightened security challenges.

Frank, in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, lamented that insecurity in the country has reached an alarming proportion which requires immediate assistance from friendly developed countries to restore normalcy.

The notable political activist, however, insisted that it is now clear to Nigerians in particular, and the world in general that the raging inferno devouring the country is a function of Buhari’s and APC’s insensitivity, ineptness, corruption and gross inability to keep Nigeria safe.

The Bayelsa-born political activist also blamed the rising insecurity in the country on the leadership of the security agencies, saying they, "stink of corruption, incompetence, negligence and cluelessness."

He said the current upsurge in killings and annexation of Nigerian territories by Boko Haram insurgents have sufficiently put a lie to the propaganda of Buhari’s administration claiming that the country is winning the war on terror.

“Now, it is not opposition party raising the alarm, but APC Governors are lamenting seizure of communities by insurgents and APC senators are crying out that the country is on fire and that Buhari has failed,” he declared.

Frank insisted that insecurity in Nigeria has reached a point that if left in the hands of Buhari and APC, the country will inexorably face a certain doom.

He said: "Today, we no longer hear of only Boko Haram terrorists' killings in the North East of Nigeria but also everywhere in the country.

“There are incessant killings in the South and West being perpetrated by Fulani herdsmen whom the government has refused to proscribe and tag a terrorist organization.

“Rather, Buhari and his failed government has scandalously and baptismally renamed these murderous herdsmen as ‘bandits’.

"These murderous devils invade people's homes, rape women, massacre communities, abduct students for humongous ransom and yet, none of them has ever been arrested nor prosecuted.

"Fulani herdsmen, having been emboldened by the Federal Government, have continued to spill innocent blood and traumatise Nigerians across the country.

“Look at the massacre in Benue state? What crime did the murdered IDP camp residents commit other than that they are innocent Nigerians?

"What about the abducted students of Greenfield University in Kaduna state who are being serially murdered by their abductors?

“What about the killing spree in  Mainok, Damaturu-Maiduguri highway? There are ongoing killings and kidnapping in Osun, Abia, Anambra, Imo states and every part of the country. Where is safe?

"We were recently confronted with a sad reality that Boko Haram terrorists have seized and hoisted flags in over 42 communities in Niger state, which is just a stone throw from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

“This shows that the territorial integrity of this country, under Buhari, has gone to the mud. Otherwise, how can terrorists seize and hoist flags in any part of a country where there is a government?

"I dare say that the APC’s administration has not only failed to curb terrorism but has become its Enabler-In-Chief.

"Look at how the Presidency rolled out the tanks to defend the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, who has been unveiled by US intelligence to have ties with, and sympathy for terrorist organisations like Al-Qaeda and Taliban!

“How safe are we in Nigeria if such a sensitive position is held by a known terrorist sympathiser? Yet, the Buhari government has refused to sack and prosecute Pantami who is currently superintending over the bio-metrics, phone, National Identification Number (NIN) and Bank Verification Number (BVN) of Nigerians.

"We recall that President Buhari forced former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen, out of office over alleged past misdeeds and appointed Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad.

“Same ignoble treatment was meted out against Mrs Kemi Adeosun who was forced to resign as finance minister and was swiftly replaced with Hajia Zainab Ahmed by Buhari.

“However, Buhari has refused to sack Pantami who is believed to be an ardent terrorists’ sympathizer. This shows that this government is an accomplice to terrorist elements now making the country ungovernable.

"It is clear that this government lacks the capacity to secure Nigeria and Nigerians. Even the military lacks the morale and competence to fight insecurity.

“This is why the Nigerian Air Force would rather bomb and kill over 20 ground troops instead of terrorists.

"I therefore, call on the international community: UN, US, EU and the UK not to be indifferent to the situation in Nigeria but to help this country with technology, manpower and intelligence to overcome its present security challenges, just like they did in Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan.

END

Signed

Comrade Timi Frank
Ex-APC’s deputy spokesperson
https://thenigerianpost.com.ng/2021/04/29/insecurity-timi-frank-blames-buharis-apcs-incompetence-for-nations-calamities/

Disturbed by the growing resort to destruction of its property and attack on personnel by partisans, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has threatened to blacklist political parties whose members or supporters go haywire during their congresses or conventions.

INEC said it had watched with utmost dismay and profound concern the recurrent acrimony, violence and destruction of property, including the commission’s property, which had characterized some recent political party congresses across the country.

National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Barr. Festus Okoye in a statement issued in Abuja yesterday, noted that the level of violence was making it very difficult for the commission to exercise its statutory oversight responsibility.

He said: “This is the season of political party congresses and conventions to elect their leaders at various levels of party organization and INEC is mandated by law to monitor them. These meetings constitute a very important aspect of the electoral process and democracy generally in Nigeria.

“The level of violence in some of the congresses is making it extremely difficult for the commission to exercise its statutory oversight responsibility enshrined in Sections 85 and 87 of the Electoral Act, 2010. In one of such congress in Kaduna recently, violence broke out, leading to the destruction of the commission’s ballot boxes.

“Political parties are reminded that they have a clear obligation to ensure that their congresses and conventions are orderly, democratic and in accordance with extant legal framework, their own constitutions and guidelines, as well as INEC’s regulations and guidelines.

“This commission will not stand askance and watch party conventions and congresses degenerate into farcical rituals and violent fiascos that threaten lives and destroy property.

“For the avoidance of doubt, INEC will henceforth reconsider its involvement in these events, should they continue to put lives of members of the public and staff of the commission at risk.

“Henceforth, there will be far-reaching consequences in any situation where party congresses and conventions degenerate into violence and destruction of INEC property. Apart from replacing such destroyed materials, parties may be blacklisted from the receipt of INEC materials for their activities in the future.

‘’The commission may also withdraw its staff from monitoring such violent political party meetings, with the resultant non-recognition of their outcomes.”

The commission also reminded political parties of the forthcoming primaries to select their candidates for upcoming elections and by-elections, particularly those for Anambra State governorship election and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Area Council elections.
INEC said parties must stick to the respective Timetable and Schedule of Activities for these elections as released by the Commission, which have been communicated to them and are available at the INEC website (www.inec.gov.ng).

“Parties must ensure that their primaries are peaceful and orderly. Above all, they must adhere strictly to the Electoral Act, INEC Regulations and Guidelines, as well as party constitutions and rules, which are domiciled with the Commission.

‘’Finally, in the conduct of their internal processes, political parties must hold themselves to the same standards they hold the commission during elections namely, openness, fairness, adherence to rules and peaceful conduct.

“INEC remains deeply concerned about the acrimony and violence within parties, such that there are now more suits in various courts of law arising from party congresses and primaries than from elections conducted by the commission.

‘’Still, the commission will continue to work with political parties in support of their internal functioning in order to build strong and democratic parties in Nigeria,” Okoye stated.



© The Nation
https://2023.ng/violent-congresses-inec-threatens-to-blacklist-political-parties/

When you talk about creativity, consciousness, musical techniques, and poise in the African music scene; then MKO would have to be mentioned on the Shortlist. 


The multi-talented Nigerian Singer, Songwriter and Producer is presently proving Pundits right. MKO is arguably Africa's most sort after African Art in the entire Middle East. 


With a couple of enthralling tracks to his credit. MKO has collaborated with some of the biggest names in the African and Middle Eastern regions, especially in Dubai. 


MKO recently premiered his blazing hit single titled: DIVERSE featuring Jordanian star art, Mansour. The song which has one of the most exclusive Visuals by any African Artist, is presently rocking airwaves across various TV and Radio Stations in Africa and the Middle East. 


You can download and view MKO's DIVERSE in the YouTube link attached:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An050x2czi4

Olanrewaju Suraju, chairman of the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), has been quizzed by the police in Abuja over allegations that an e-mail attributed to Mohammed Bello Adoke, former attorney-general of the federation, was forged.

TheCable also understands that the circulation of a taped phone conversation in 2017 purporting to be a call between an Italian journalist and Adoke over the OPL 245 affair has also been traced to Suraju.

In it, a man said to be Adoke said he knew the OPL 245 transaction was a “presidential scam” and made seemingly inappropriate overtures to the female journalist.

However, Adoke said the phone call was stage-managed to implicate him in the Italian trial of Shell and ENI over allegations of corruption in the purchase of OPL 245 from Malabu Oil & Gas.

He said he did not speak with the journalist and that he did not even have a Nigerian line — said to have been used for the call — at the time as he was on self-exile and was aware the security agencies were after him.

The prosecutors eventually failed to present the tape in court after Adoke’s rebuttal.

The OPL 245 case has now been dismissed by the court, giving the oil companies and their executives an all-clear in the allegations of corruption.

Suraju had been invited by the police after Adoke petitioned Mohammed Adamu, former inspector-general of police, alleging falsification of evidence in the OPL 245 case in Milan.

TheCable understands that Suraju has now admitted to the police that he was the one that circulated both the tape and the e-mail.


‘CREATING A FALSE LINK’

In February, Adoke raised alarm that the e-mail tendered by prosecutors against him in the Milan court was forged.

He said the document was meant to create a false link between him and Aliyu Abubakar, one of those who stood trial over OPL 245 deal.

Suraju, whose organisation and its partners worked closely with the Italian prosecutors, was suspected to have circulated the suspicious e-mail.

The HEDA boss was detained on Wednesday by the IGP monitoring unit in Abuja.

This development comes weeks after an Italian court acquitted Shell and Eni of corruption charges in the $1.1 billion OPL 245 deal.

On Thursday, Suraju was released after meeting bail conditions.

Speaking with Premium Times after his release, Suraju described the probe as “corruption fighting back”.

He said neither Adoke nor Kanu Agabi, his lawyer, showed up for interrogation, adding that “an unknown lawyer” was sent to represent them.

“This is a case of corruption fighting back, with Mr Adoke using the police to harass, not just the civil society, but at the same time using illegal means to accuse myself and my organisation of forging a document that was admitted in court as evidence in Milan, of which we had no previous connection and business with,” he said.



© TheCable
https://thenigerianpost.com.ng/2021/04/16/police-quiz-suraju-over-adokes-petition-on-forged-e-mail-phone-tape/

Ten years after an international inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the sale of OPL 245 oil field by Malabu Oil and Gas Limited to Shell and its partners, ENI and Agip, for a princely sum of $1.3 billion following the resolution agreement of 2011 was opened, findings so far have revealed no evidence of corrupt practices on the part of those involved in the deal. And, like a pack of badly arranged cards on a shaky table, the case of criminal prosecution against Mohammed Bello Adoke, Nigeria’s former attorney-general and minister of justice and the man whose legal advice formed part of the processes leading to the resolution agreement of 2011, and international oil giants, Shell, ENI and Agip, over their respective roles in the sale of OPL 245 appears to be collapsing from one international jurisdiction to the other. From Washington to London and Milan, the efforts of the Federal Government and its partners to proceed with the criminal prosecution of Bello Adoke and others have been fruitless and unsuccessful.

In April 2018, a Federal High Court in Nigeria had ruled that Bello Adoke could not be held personally liable for his role in the $1.3 billion Malabu Oil deal and affirmed that his involvement in the resolution agreement of 2011, which paved the way for the acquisition of OPL 245 by Shell and its partners, was in compliance with his constitutional duties. In her ruling, Judge Binta Murtala Nyako said, “The executive powers of the President are exercisable by his ministers. The plaintiff cannot be held personally liable for carrying out the lawful directives of the President.”

Again, in October 2019, the United States Department of Justice closed its inquiry into Shell over its 2011 acquisition of OPL 245 from Malabu Oil for the sum of $1.3 billion without filing any charge against the company, Bello Adoke and any other person involved in the deal for fraud. A statement issued by Shell on the development read: “The U.S. Department of Justice [DoJ] has notified us that it has closed its enquiry into Shell in relation to OPL 245. We understand that this is based on the facts available to DoJ, including on-going legal proceedings in Europe.” In the same vein the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also closed its investigation into the OPL 245 matter without indicting any of the persons or entities involved for corrupt practices.

Similarly, in May 2020, an English court, while declining jurisdiction, threw out a case filed before it in 2018 by the Federal Government of Nigeria alleging payments made by Shell and ENI to acquire OPL 245 from Malabu Oil were used for kickbacks and bribes to Nigerian government officials. In his ruling, Justice Butcher maintained that the High Court “must decline jurisdiction over the action against” Shell and the other defendants.

Dubbed the biggest corruption case in Africa, a Milan court, in February this year, acquitted ENI, its chief executive and Shell over charges of fraud with respect to the 2011 $1.3 billion OPL 245 acquisition from Malabu Oil. After three years of trial and 74 court hearings, the presiding judge, Marco Tremolada, said the companies and other defendants had been acquitted as there was no case to answer. Whereas, the judgment of the Milan court is not final and is open to appeal, this latest “no case to answer” verdict has brought to the fore the need to dig deeper and unearth the truth behind the falsehood upon which the entire OPL 245 corrupt acquisition case is built in order to understand why it has serially failed the test of judicial scrutiny.

Contrary to the entrenched narrative that was spun around Shell’s acquisition of OPL 245 from Malabu Oil, which portrayed the deal as a corrupt scheme that was brokered by government officials to defraud Nigeria of $1.3 billion, the deal was purely a private transaction between two business entities, Malabu Oil and Gas Limited and Shell and its partners, ENI and Agip, with the government of Nigeria acting as a mediator. Government’s role as a mediator was necessitated by the need to resolve a lingering dispute over the ownership of the OPL 245 between Malabu Oil and Shell as a result of the double allocation of the same oil field to both companies at different times. And the $1.3 billion that was involved in the transaction was not the money of the Federal Government but a private capital pooled together by Shell and its partners to buy the contentious oil field from Malabu Oil under a willing buyer/willing seller arrangement.

The dispute over the ownership of OPL 245 was created by the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration when, in 2001, it revoked the oil field from Malabu Oil and reallocated it to Shell in 2003, five years after it was originally awarded to the former in 1998 by the Gen. Sani Abacha military regime. Interestingly, the man who emerged from the shadows as the owner of Malabu Oil and challenged the actions of the Obasanjo administration in court was Dan Etete, Nigeria’s oil minister at the time OPL 245 was first allocated. Discernibly, Etete, as oil minister, had awarded to a company in which he had interest a deep offshore oil field covering an area of over 1,000m bsl with a proven reserve of approximately nine billion barrels of oil reserves and a daily production capacity of 170,000 bpd. OPL 245 is a very lucrative oil field with a market value of about $15 billion at the time of its sale in 2011.

Curiously, before Etete and his Malabu Oil could exhaust every judicial channel to reclaim their revoked OPL 245, the Obasanjo administration opted for an out-of-court settlement in 2006. Under the terms of the 2006 agreement, OPL 245 was fully restored to Malabu Oil with authority to with the oil field whatever it pleased. The execution of this agreement became binding on the Federal Government when it was reduced to a consent judgment.

However, while the Federal Government had restored OPL 245 to Malabu Oil in 2006, the same government left Shell with its valid 2003 allocation of the same oil field, a clear case of double allocation of OPL 245 to two different oil companies, which triggered an intense dispute over the ownership of the oil field. Shell headed to the International Centre for Settlements of Investments Dispute [ICSID] in Washington with a $2 billion claim against the Nigerian government as compensation for its investment in de-risking OPL 245 to make it commercially viable. The dispute lingered for the next five years, until 2011, when the President Goodluck Jonathan administration came up with a resolution agreement that was endorsed by all contending parties.

The successful execution of the resolution agreement saw Shell agreeing to buy out the interest of Malabu Oil for the sum of $1.3 billion, despite having a valid allocation over OPL 245 since 2003, and Malabu Oil accepting an amount of money that was far less than what the company would have earned if it had embarked on the commercial exploration of an oil field worth more than $15 billion, over which it also had a valid claim as clearly spelt out in the settlement agreement of 2006. It allowed the Federal Government of Nigeria the rare privilege of having its cake and eating it.

Due to the special circumstances surrounding this transaction, Shell and its partners had to pay the $1.3 billion into a Federal Government of Nigeria escrow account with JP Morgan, from where it was transferred to Malabu Oil after the company endorsed its own part of the resolution agreement.

There was also the problem of mistrust between Malabu Oil and Shell. Malabu Oil had engaged Shell as its technical partner before the revocation from the former and re-allocation to the latter. Understandably, Malabu Oil felt aggrieved with Shell and could no longer trust a partner that went behind it to possess its possession. Hence, the third party intervention by the government of Nigeria to free the locked-down oil field to boost the country’s economy.

In addition to the fact that government retained a 50% production sharing stake in the oil field, the earning of a signature bonus of $210 million to Nigeria from the $1.3 billion deal was the icing on the cake. The successful execution of the resolution agreement of 2011, which was affirmed by the Ministry of Petroleum, Department of Petroleum Resources, NNPC and other stakeholders in conformity with Nigeria’s oil and gas law as well as industry practices, not only resolved the dispute but also saved Nigeria from a costly Washington arbitration, freed the oil field up for commercial exploitation and earned for the Nigerian federation the highest ever paid signature bonus of $210 million.

*And now the big question: how did Bello Adoke, a man whose legal advice as attorney-general and minister of justice helped extricate the Nigerian government from a mess it created without paying a dime in penalties but actually earned $210 million signature bonus end up in the dock, slammed with corruption charges? The answer is not because the 2011 $1.3 billion Malabu Oil deal defrauded the Nigerian government but because of what was contained in a certain petition that was written to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against Etete by a law firm that goes by the name AA UMAR and CO on behalf of Pecos Energy Limited and Mohammed Sani [Abacha] in January 2012.*

In a fresh twist to the entire Malabu Oil saga, the Abacha family suddenly emerged from behind the clouds to lay claim to the ownership of Malabu Oil and Gas Limited and OPL 245 that belonged to it. In their petition to EFCC, the Abacha family accused Etete and his other associates of sundry crimes, including forgery, criminal conspiracy and a fraudulent restructuring of the shareholding structure of Malabu Oil sometime between 1998 and 2001, which replaced Mohammed Sani Abacha and his allies as majority shareholders with Etete and his acolytes. Consequently, the Abacha family went ahead to distance themselves from the $1.3 billion executed by Etete on behalf of Malabu Oil, claiming that Shell and its partners, ENI and Agip actually bought stolen goods from Nigeria’s former oil minister. It would seem in this instance that Nigeria’s most notorious rogue family, whose looted funds are still being repatriated in tranches from various offshore private accounts in the over two decades after the demise of their roguish patriarch, is accusing Etete of stealing from them the stolen oil mineral asset of the Nigerian people.

It was on the basis of the claims in the Abacha petition that the EFCC, under the leadership of Ibrahim Magu, launched a criminal prosecution into a case that was ordinarily a civil shareholders’ dispute over the ownership of Malabu Oil. To put it simply, Magu’s EFCC got the government of Nigeria into prosecuting Bello Adoke and others on behalf of the Abachas in their desperate bid to retrieve a stolen oil mineral asset they stole from the Nigerian people.

Without evidence of bribery, corruption, money laundry and theft, most of the charges filed against the accused persons in multiple courts in Nigeria border more on their alleged conspiracy to fraudulently take over the ownership of Malabu Oil from Mohammad Sani Abacha [Complainant] and a closer examination of the case file reveals no corruption charged on Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd in relation to the $1.3 billion deal. Like a leper who boasted that if he can’t lift a cup of tea from the table he can well push it off the table, the Abacha family appears determined to ensure that if they can’t have OPL 245 no one else can have it. And It would seem that Magu’s EFCC was only out to scandalize, harass, embarrass and punish the accused persons into yielding to the demands of the Abacha family for their share of the proceeds of the sale of OPL 245. In fact, looking at the case before him, Justice Iyang Ekwo of the Abuja division of the Federal High Court cautioned the media against reporting the case before him as that of “Malabu Oil trial,” as there was no such matter in his court.

*Against the advice of Nigeria’s current attorney-general and minister of justice, Abubakar Malami, the decision of Magu’s EFCC to build a criminal case of bribery, money laundering and forgery on a civil matter of shareholders’ dispute over the ownership of Malabu Oil is responsible for the scandal that is now rocking the malicious trial of those involved in the deal across the world. Recall that, in 2017, Nigeria’s chief law officer, Abubakar Malami, had given a legal advice to Magu’s EFCC thus: “Having fully examined the entire case file, I am inclined to request you to reconsider the charge in relation to the composition of the parties, the offences, the proof of evidence and the case summary in view of the fact that nothing in the proof of evidence appears to have directly linked the parties to the offences as charged.”*

Malami had also stated clearly, “A curious observation of the entire file clearly indicates that the proof of evidence is unlikely to support the counts which border on fraud, conspiracy and money laundering.”

While the role of Magu’s EFCC appears to be in furtherance of the agenda of the Abacha family to recover their stolen property, could the same be said of some civil society organisations and their allies in the media? Could the deliberate dissemination of disinformation, misinformation, falsehood, innuendoes about the Malabu deal and the corrupt characterisation of the individuals and entities by some of these CSOs and their media allies be part of an elaborate Abacha scheme to give a dog a bad name in order to hang it?
https://www.sunnewsonline.com/opl-245-abacha-family-and-malabu-trial-scandal/

....Speaks on resigning as APC Spokesman



Bayelsa-born activist and former Deputy Spokesman of Nigeria's ruling All Progressives Congress, Comrade Timi Frank has disclosed that meetings are ongoing across Africa to put together a team of likeminds that will rescue Africa from the grip of bad leadership.

The activist made this position known in an interview with a social media news personality, Pararan.

In the programme titled Pararan One on One, done in pidgin English, the activist decried the state of things in Nigeria under the ruling APC.

He also knocked African leaders for the spate of bad leadership across Africa.

Frank said he has been travelling across countries in Africa to gather likeminds who would come together to rescue Africa from bad leadership.

He said "I dey look for the betterness of Nigerian youths and I dey look for the betterness of youths across Africa, not just Nigeria. That's why you see sey today you go hear sey Timi Frank dey for Kenya, tomorrow you go hear sey Timi Frank dey Ghana. Next tomorrow you fit hear sey Timi Frank dey Rwanda, the next day you fit hear sey Timi Frank dey Tanzania. I no just dey travel for fun. I dey travel because of sey I wan go discuss issues with likeminds in Africa, because today, so many bad bad things don happen around Africa not just Nigeria".

"Africa today, we are in trouble with the current crop of leaders wey we get. So, nobody go do am for us if we no do am for ourselves. Na we be the youths today wey God don bless, wey God don rise to a certain level", he further said.


On his sojourn with the APC, he said "On my own, I resign because I believe sey wetin dey happen for the party, no be better thing at all. No be wetin mean well for Nigerians. And that's why I decide to say I don tire, sey I too dey young to carry myself go keep for the midst of these bad people and these wicked people wey wan destroy Nigeria".

"I no go go be mouth piece for that kind party or to go dey defend so many lie lie wey you dey see today, wey dey go on for the country.

"I no wan end up like the man wey dem dey call Minister for Information wey everybody know sey his name na his representative. I decided on my own sey I no go fit do this kind job again, make I resign, that's why I resign", he added.

He also praised the efforts of Professor P.L.O. Lumumba over his constant calls on African leaders for better leadership of the continent and for identifying with young people with similar drive for a better Africa.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6IgC3eAsIo

Association of Ebonyi State Indigenes in the Diaspora (AESID) said it has found out the real reason behind the recent killing and maiming of innocent citizens in Effium, Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

The persistent attacks in recent times have led to loss of hundreds of lives and destruction of several properties worth millions of naira by suspected hired attackers.

In a statement personally signed on Friday by the AESID President, Amb Paschal Oluchukwu, said: “the discovery of mineral deposits in the area is the actual cause of the lingering conflict in the once peaceful communities.”

He alleged that attempt by the government in partnership with a billionaire investor from Anambra state to mine the discovered minerals, is responsible for the killings.

“Recall that we had always raised the alarm and condemned the ongoing carnage in Effium which first started on January 22nd 2021. So far, uncountable number of souls particularly of Ezza descent have been lost to the violent attacks which we have also consistently blamed on the Ebonyi State government for its inability to show leadership and live up to his constitutional responsibility of protecting lives and property of citizens as canvassed in the Nigerian constitution.

“It has come to the notice of AESID that the discovery of some mineral deposits such as lead, Tin, Zinc and some deposits of crude oil is the main reason the Korri natives sponsored and believably backed by the State government are hellbent on wiping out the rest of other dwellers in Effium and the Ezzas who have the highest population from the area.”

AESID said further that it is not against any businessman mining "God’s given mineral" deposits in any land so long as it meets the requirements of the law and a government in turn giving support for such exploration to be carried out.

“AESID is miffed by the insidiously desperate attempts to favour one side against the other and perpetrate heinous violent crimes against those it feel could be an obstacle or opposition to its planned forceful and secret mining activities in Effium. This is insane and downrightly condemnable and we so do!

“The said Billionaire businessman, who’s firm is said to be interested in the mining operations should know better how the law provides for corporate institutions interested in tapping mineral resources in a land or community should best approach it to avoid clandestine moves that could endanger lives and property as is currently the case in Effium,” the statement read.

The group tasked the state government to come out open and clear the air and assure the people of Effium about their safety.

“We, therefore, insist that Governor Umahi must act by ordering the arrest and prosecution of the culprits and indeed, others allegedly mentioned in this crime.

“The attempts to clampdown, arrest and detain some Ezza stakeholders for voicing out their outrage over these dastardly attacks including the detention of a member, representing Ezza South Constituency in the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, by the DSS is highly condemned by this body,” the statement noted further.

The statement also described as a joke the declaration of AESID President Paschal Oluchukwu as a wanted person in Ebonyi State.



© ngg.ng
https://ngg.ng/ebonyi-discovery-of-crude-oil-other-minerals-cause-of-killings-in-effium-aesid-alleges/

• Lashes out on the Nigerian Government for its bad governance


Activist and Ex-Spokesman of the ruling APC, Timi Frank has hailed Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun popularly known as Wizkid and Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu popularly known as Burna Boy over their unending efforts to set Nigeria on the good side of the global map with their music talents.

He also commended Nana Kwame Bediako a.k.a. Freedom Jacob Caesar, for how is turning around the fortune of Ghana and consequently Africa in his own individual way, noting strongly his leadership thoughts, vision and ideas for a better Africa.

The words of commendation by the Nigerian activist on Wizkid, Burna Boy and Jacob Caesar were contained in a recent Instagram post of his.

In his Instagram post hashtagged #TimiFrankTalks, Timi Frank wrote; "The Nigerian entertainment Industry is creating a new dynamics, and properly placing Nigeria on the map for the right reasons.

"Amidst bad Leadership and failed institutional composition, young Nigerians hasn't stopped reorganising the Nigerian wheels.

"Well done @wizkidayo and @burnaboygram for basking the Grammys. And I want to congratulate every other Nigerians out there who is putting Nigeria on the map. Your diligent efforts will never go unnoticed".

In commending Jacob Caesar, Timi Frank wrote; "And I want to appreciate my friend and brother 'Freedom Jacob Ceaser' @iamfreedom for his Leadership. Ofcourse, he is a revolutionary Leader and a sense of thoughts for this generation".
https://ngg.ng/africa-timi-frank-commends-wizkid-burna-boy-and-jacob-caesar-for-blazing-the-trail/

....Call on the Federal Government for intervention



The Association of Ebonyi State Indigenes in the Diaspora (AESID) raised alarmed bothering on persistent killings ongoing in Effium community, Ohaukwu Local Government Area of the state.

This is as they called on the federal government led by President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently intervene and put an end to it.



The alarm

The Ebonyi indigenes said The “senseless attacks on defenceless citizens” have claimed hundreds of lives and led to loss of several properties worth millions of naira since January 22nd 2021, when the first incident was reported.

In a statement released on Thursday in Abuja by the AESID President, Amb. Paschal Oluchukwu, condemned what he described as buck-passing by the state government while innocent lives, particularly those of Ezza origins.

“We vehemently condemn Wednesday’s slaughtering of scores of Ezza fathers, mothers, sons and daughters including the setting ablaze of many homes by the hired fighting militia men.

“The sad incident could have been averted if the government has ever lived up to its responsibility of protecting lives and properties.

“AESID is deeply saddened that under the present Umahi administration, the lives of Ebonyians are as worthless as a tissue paper", part of the statement read.

According to the statement, AESID said it is generally concerned that the level of widespread insecurity and growing apprehension that has hit Ebonyi state under Umahi’s leadership as the Chief Security Officer of the state is very alarming and quite pathetic that "our once peaceful state could almost be compared to Zamfara and other Northern states held hostage by bandits and terrorists".

“We are duty-bound to reflect that when these violent killings that have led to the death of hundreds of many unarmed and harmless Ezza natives who were completely taken unawares started, the first impression the Governor gave was that it was a mere fight between two factions over who controls Effium motor park. But investigations have revealed contrary”, the statement further read.

Oluchukwu said a petition was made to authorities concerned to the effect and Governor Umahi was copied.

“We further write to inform and remind you that the over 15, 000 natives of Ezza nation who have remained displaced as a result of this crisis that has persisted without media reportage are still stranded in different parts of the state without any succour and or support from your inhuman administration while those who have nowhere to run to are being secretly murdered.

“AESID as Ebonyi’s leading governance and accountability platform warns the Ezzas are not cowards. The people should therefore not be blamed the day they rise up to defend themselves and their lands. After all, Ebonyi belongs to all of us. We think and rightly, too that they should not be pushed to extremity of the wall as they would be compelled to resist same and fight back.

“It is further our view that Governor Umahi already knows that the simple solution to this problem is to order the arrest and uncompromising trial of those fuelling the crisis.

“We wonder what is so difficult about taking this simple step to end the crises as the Chief Security Officer of the State if not that some powerful persons in government may be behind the carnage.

“AESID makes no hesitation to invite the Federal Government and all its agencies to uncompromisingly wade into this matter in order to nip this crisis in the bud.”
https://ngg.ng/killings-ebonyi-indigenes-raise-alarm-over-fresh-killings-in-effium-community/

The twists and turns of OPL 245



My phone vibrated. The number was unfamiliar. I picked, all the same, and the caller introduced himself as Mohammed Bello Adoke, “former attorney-general of the federation”. It was in March 2017, nearly two years after his exit from office, and his name was trending on the internet over the OPL 245/Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd affair. I had never interacted with him, not even by phone. I had seen him in flesh just once — at the canteen near the Nigerian mission in New York during the UN General Assembly in 2011 — but I did not even greet him. I hardly walk up to the high and mighty. I always try to maintain my lane, as we say in Nigeria. We probably would have become friends.

A senior colleague had told me beforehand that he had given my number to Adoke and I should expect his call. After some little talk, Adoke agreed to grant an interview to TheCable on the sole condition that we would not hesitate to publish “everything” he would say. I said “as long as you don’t libel anybody”. He laughed, assuring me that he had his facts. He lamented that his name had been maligned over the OPL 245 deal, insisting that he did no wrong but was only being witch-hunted for political reasons and had to go on self-exile. He accused the Ibrahim Magu-led EFCC of using the media to destroy him. He was ready to tell his side of the story without filter, he promised.

I’d be honest: until 2017, I was not really following the OPL 245 affair. All I knew was that Gen Sani Abacha, as head of state, awarded the oil prospecting licence (OPL) to a company in which we later discovered that Mohammed, his son, and Chief Dan Etete, his petroleum minister, had interest. Thanks to Premium Times, we got to know the real Malabu shareholders: “Mohammed Sani” was Mohammed Abacha (50 percent); “Kweku Amafegha” was Etete in flesh and blood (30 percent); and Wabi Hassan is the wife of Hassan Adamu, Nigeria’s ambassador to the US then (20 percent). Along the line, Etete had taken total control of Malabu, leaving Mohammed Abacha with zero shares.

Adoke spoke to us extensively on the OPL 245 saga: how licences were awarded to Nigerian companies in 1998 under Abacha’s “indigenous participation” policy at a discounted “signature bonus” of $20 million; how Malabu got OPL 245 and Gen TY Danjuma’s South Atlantic Petroleum Ltd (Sapetro) got OPL 246; how President Olusegun Obasanjo revoked OPL 245 in July 2001, possibly because of the Abacha links, and gave it to Shell; how Malabu went to court; how Obasanjo’s government entered into a court-ordered settlement to return the block to Malabu in 2006; and how Malabu tried to enforce the judgment, without luck, under President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

In 2010, when Jonathan assumed power, Malabu raised the issue of the court settlement again. Jonathan asked Adoke, his AGF, for legal opinion. Adoke said the agreement was binding. OPL 245 was thereafter returned to Malabu. Shell and ENI moved in and negotiated to buy 100 percent of Malabu’s interest in the block for $1.1 billion. They also agreed to pay $210 million – a record – as “signature bonus” to Nigeria. Andrew Obaje, director of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), objected to the deal because the industry regulator was not part of the negotiations. Adoke said after this was sorted out, Obaje dropped his objections and the deal was signed in April 2011.

All done? Not quite. International watchdogs started scrutinising the deal, largely because of Etete’s involvement. There was a red flag: in 2007, he had been convicted in France for money laundering in a different matter (the conviction was quashed in 2014). The activists alleged that the payment of $1.1 billion to Malabu was a scheme to bribe Nigerian politicians for facilitating the OPL 245 deal. The campaigners argued that officials of Shell and ENI tried to “insulate” themselves from corruption charges by paying directly to Nigeria’s accounts at JP Morgan in London for “onward transmission” to Malabu. The money could have improved Nigeria’s healthcare and education, they lamented.

JP Morgan, on Nigeria’s instruction, transferred $875 million to Malabu and the rest to the company’s middlemen, two of whom have now been jailed for corruption in a different case. Etete later bought a jet and a Phantom, among other instruments of status symbol. Ordinarily, what he did with his money shouldn’t be anybody’s problem. After all, Danjuma bought mansions in Spain and a jet after CNOOC of China paid $1.7 billion to acquire 45 percent of OPL 246 from Sapetro. Mrs Folorunsho Alakija also bought a jet after her Famfa Oil hit gold. What’s the difference? Well, we can say Danjuma and Alakija did not award the licences to themselves; more so, they did not use pseudonyms.

When Italian prosecutors launched the globally celebrated corruption trial of Shell, ENI and others in 2017, Adoke was not a party to the case. But I guess the Nigerian government wanted to support the Italians by trying to prove that the attorney-general who gave the legal opinion on the deal in 2011 was corrupt. If that could be established in Nigerian courts, it would help the case in Italy. Nigeria wanted Malabu’s $1.1 billion returned. There were rumours that Mr Ibrahim Lamorde was removed as EFCC chairman in 2015 a day after he told the powers-that-be that there was no evidence to go after Adoke. Magu came on board and Adoke became the face of the “Malabu scandal”.

EFCC initially said he took $801 million bribe but toned it down to N300 million. Adoke flatly denied, retorting that “a corrupt attorney-general can bankrupt Nigeria”. The N300 million, he said, was a mortgage transaction. He had been offered a property for N500 million, he said, and he secured a N300 million mortgage from Unity Bank. His equity contribution was to be N200 million. The bank transferred the N300 million to Carlin International Ltd, the property company owned by Alhaji Aliyu Abubakar. Adoke said when he could not pay up his equity, Abubakar refunded the N300 million to the bank and sold the property, located at No 271, Cadastral Zone A06, Maitama, Abuja, to the CBN.

According to Adoke, the entire records are with the EFCC: when the mortgage account was opened, when it was credited with N300 million, when the N300 million was transferred to Carlin International, when the N300 million was returned to the bank, and when the account was closed. He said Magu’s boys had looked everywhere to find something to pin on him. They, reportedly, checked the records of the $2.1 billion arms fund, scrutinised the accounts of the ministry of justice and perused the election funds allegedly shared by Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, former petroleum minister. When they found nothing, Adoke said, they decided to scandalise the failed mortgage deal.

I started following developments around OPL 245 closely after listening to Adoke’s story. In Italy, a prosecution witness, Ferri Alessandro, confirmed to the court that Carlin International offered the property in question to Adoke with a letter of “offer to sell” dated October 5, 2011 and that N300 million was transferred to Carlin from his Unity Bank account on February 15, 2012, after which the account went into deficit. He also said by the entries and exits from the same account between February 15, 2012 and October 17, 2013, roughly N300 million was returned to Adoke’s account to repay the mortgage. Astonishingly, it was the same EFCC that gave all these details to the Italians.

Two witnesses said Adoke did not take a bribe. Ednan Tofik ogly Agaev, a former Russian ambassador, told the court that he was pressured to mention Adoke under FBI interrogation. Vincenzo Armanna, a former ENI manager, also told the court that Adoke actually confronted ENI officials that if they gave or took bribe, he would order them arrested and prosecuted. On the legal and technical details, Mallam Abubakar Malami, the AGF, and Dr Ibe Kachikwu, then-petroleum minister, wrote separate letters giving the OPL 245 deal an all-clear. Justice Binta Nyako also ruled that Adoke could not be held liable for carrying out a lawful presidential directive.

I had thought the Nigerian government just wanted to throw Adoke under the bus to win the case in Italy, but I stopped doubting his political vendetta theory when he was arrested in Dubai, UAE, in November 2019. The judge that issued the warrant of arrest had vacated it, but the Nigerian authorities refused to inform Interpol. He was detained for 35 days. With Nigeria unable to extradite him because of a legal logjam, Adoke decided to finally return to Nigeria. On arrival, he was arrested and detained for another 55 days by EFCC – despite court orders that he be released on bail. Adoke later said there were efforts to link him to the P&ID scandal but EFCC could not find anything.

And now, the Italian court has cleared Shell and others of corruption in the OPL 245 deal. The details are not yet public but I suppose the court took the view that Malabu legally owned OPL 245; therefore, Shell and ENI cannot be held liable for how Malabu spent its $1.1 billion. After the news broke, Adoke called me and said, tearfully: “Do you now believe me that I did no wrong? Yet I have been branded a thief, persecuted and humiliated for six years. If I was corrupt in office, I can assure you EFCC would have gleefully charged me to court with concrete evidence, not trumped-up charges on OPL 245. I served Nigeria with all my soul and with all honesty. God is the ultimate judge.”

I told him it was not that I doubted him, just that when the powers-that-be in Nigeria decide to go after you, it will take a miracle for you survive with your reputation intact. It is now left for him to clear his name in the courts. He is on trial in two Nigerian courts. In one, EFCC appears to admit that the N300 million was a mortgage but is questioning the mode of repayment which it says broke money laundering laws; in the other, the agency is saying it is a bribe. Also, in the UK, Nigeria is in court with JP Morgan, asking for the restitution of the $1.1 billion. How much impact will the Italy judgment have on these cases? Let’s just say we have not heard the last of the OPL 245 saga yet.


© TheCable
https://ngg.ng/the-twists-and-turns-of-opl-245/

Killings: Ebonyi indigenes raise alarm over fresh killings in Effium community
https://ngg.ng/killings-ebonyi-indigenes-raise-alarm-over-fresh-killings-in-effium-community/

Herdsmen crisis: Why Tinubu is afraid to speak against Buhari – Afenifere chieftain, Adebanjo
https://2023.ng/herdsmen-crisis-why-tinubu-is-afraid-to-speak-against-buhari-afenifere-chieftain-adebanjo/

APC must exit with Buhari in 2023 - PDP
https://2023.ng/apc-must-exit-with-buhari-in-2023-pdp/

ICYMI: We will wait for Okorocha to take action on new political alignment — APC
https://2023.ng/icymi-we-will-wait-for-okorocha-to-take-action-on-new-political-alignment-apc/

Mega party: NCFront opens nominations for state facilitators
https://2023.ng/mega-party-ncfront-opens-nominations-for-state-facilitators/

2023: South West may lose presidency over disunity – Yoruba leaders
https://2023.ng/2023-south-west-may-lose-presidency-over-disunity-yoruba-leaders/

2023: Let's give Atiku a chance
https://2023.ng/2023-lets-give-atiku-a-chance/

2023 presidency: South East will vote en-masse for any party with Igbo candidate – Nwodo
https://2023.ng/2023-presidency-south-east-will-vote-en-masse-for-any-party-with-igbo-candidate-nwodo/

Jonathan, Jega, Nwodo, Adebanjo: Why Nigeria Must Restructure Before 2023 General Election
https://2023.ng/jonathan-jega-nwodo-adebanjo-why-nigeria-must-restructure-before-2023-general-election/

Timi Frank urges Biden to help Nigeria conduct free, fair elections in 2023
https://2023.ng/timi-frank-urges-biden-to-help-nigeria-conduct-free-fair-elections-in-2023/