5 ways AGF Malami is messing with Buhari's head over deal

Nigeria’s Attorney General, Abubakar Malami, is advising President Buhari to drop corruption cases involving Diezani Alison Madueke, former AGF (Attorney General of the Federation) Mohammed Adoke, Shell, Goodluck Jonathan and ENI; as it pertains to the Malabu oil deal.

What the heck is the Malabu oil deal?

Dan Etete was Nigeria’s petroleum minister in 1998 when he acquired one of the richest oil blocks on the continent, “OPL 245”, for his company.

Etete’s company was called Malabu oil and gas limited.

General Sani Abacha was Head of State back then.

With Jonathan as president in 2011, the oil block which contains about 9 billion barrels of crude oil, was sold to Shell and ENI for $1.3 billion.

However, Shell and ENI did not want to deal directly with Etete who had been convicted for money laundering in France, so they sent the money to an account belonging to the Federal Government of Nigeria in JP Morgan bank, London.

The Federal Government of Nigeria under the Goodluck Jonathan administration, then transferred $801million of the money into accounts controlled by Malabu and Etete in Nigeria.

The money was then allegedly shared to various government officials in Nigeria as bribes.

The Nigerian government only received the sum of $210m as signature bonus from the sale of OPL 245.

According to investigators, Goodluck Jonathan, Adoke and former petroleum minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke received bribe money from the Malabu deal.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) would go on to file a nine-count criminal charge against Adoke and eight others over the Malabu deal.

What does Malami want Buhari to do about Malabu now?

In a letter to Buhari, AGF Malami said there’s no point going ahead with prosecution against the accused persons in the Malabu deal.

Here’s a summary of what Malami wrote.

1. There’s no evidence

Malami says there’s no proof to nail anyone in court over the fraudulent deal.

He writes that; “there is also nothing in the proof of evidence to support the charge money laundering and it is therefore impossible for the prosecution to prove the elements which include illicit funds, transfer for such through various channels to re-introduce same again into the regular financial system as legitimate funds in financial institutions etc.

“Without the express proof of these elements, the count may not be sustained on the premise of the attached proof of evidence”.

2. Malabu deal was approved by three presidents, so why bother?

Malami says sale of “OPL 245” went through thanks to “the approval of three consecutive presidents of the federal government of Nigeria at the time with further claim that the matter was intended to be resolved in national interest thereby saving the nation acrimonious litigations resulting in high legal fees and the dormancy of the oil field while litigation lasted”.

This is also suggesting that Buhari should drop the case because of all the legal fees it will incur.

3. The deal was legitimate, Malami says

Why the hue and cry over the deal when it was approved and executed by the federal government?Malami asks.

“The agreement was executed by the highest authority in Nigeria and remains sacrosanct unless it is eventually set aside by the decision of a competent court of law and denying the parties immediate benefit of reaping the fruit of their investments”.

Ok.

4. Malami says if Buhari proceeds with the Malabu deal probe, it will send a wrong message to foreign investors.

His words were: "The above commitments are binding on the FGN. ENI/Shell legitimately expects that the FGN would respect the commitments. Failure by the FGN to respect them would cast Nigeria in a very bad light internationally and negatively impact the FGN’s quest for foreign investments.

“Clearly, potential investors will not have the confidence to invest in Nigeria if the government of the country is perceived as one which does not honour its commitments (captured in an agreement signed by three of its ministers)”.

5. Malami says revisiting the settlement, deal and everything in between, is not workable

“The idea of revisiting the settlement agreement which resulted in the sale of the oil field… is not workable”, Malami advised Buhari.