Adoke departs Dubai for Nigeria after spending 5 weeks in Interpol's detention

Former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Mohammed Bello Adoke, has departed Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for Nigeria, after spending five weeks in the custody of the International Criminal Police Organization, commonly known as Interpol.

Premium Times reports that Adoke departed Dubai on Emirates Airlines Flight 785 which left the Emirati commercial capital at 11:00 a.m. Dubai time (8: 00 a.m Nigerian time) and was estimated to arrive Abuja at 3:40 p.m. local time.

As reported on Pulse, the former AGF was taken into custody by Interpol on November 11, 2019, upon his arrival at the UAE for medical check-up.

Adoke's arrest was as a result of a red alert issued by the Nigerian government, as part of the ongoing probe of the Malabu oil scam deal.

What you should know

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had filed fraud charges against the former Attorney-General over a shady ‎$1.1 billion oil deal.

Former Minister of Petroleum, Dan Etete, was also indicted in the Malabu oil deal [Guardian Nigeria] Guardian Nigeria

The anti-graft agency also filed charges against Dan Etete, former petroleum minister, and a businessman, Abubakar Aliyu, for their involvement in the oil deal.

Adoke and former Minister of State for Finance, Yerima Ngama, were said to have approved the transfer of about $1.1 billion into Nigerian accounts controlled by Etete.

Following a warrant of arrest request by the EFCC over the controversial OPL 245 deal, a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja issued the warrant against Adoke, alongside others who were indicted in the shady deal.

An application by Adoke's lawyers however prompted the court, presided over by D. Z. Senchi, to vacate the warrant on Friday, October 25, 2019, thereby declaring it “null and void and of no effect whatsoever”.

According to The Cable, while the first order was sent to Interpol by the EFCC, the vacating order was not transmitted, which triggered confusion for Interpol.

A source familiar with the matter was quoted to have said the police are asking for a certified copy of the vacating order before they can release him and allow him to proceed for his medicals.

Why Interpol freed Adoke

According to a Premium Times report, the Nigerian government failed to file necessary legal documents that would either allow the UAE to extradite Adoke to Nigeria or keep him in their custody.

The report has it that the failure was a major letdown for UAE authorities because Nigeria had promised Interpol robust action with respect to Adoke’s extradition if arrested.

“Nigeria had committed that it would seek his extradition in conformity with international law applicable in bilateral and multilateral treaties.

The source continued, “But because his warrant had been quashed, Nigeria was unable to make a legitimate request for his extradition. Our government simply played politics with the matter rather than behave as a responsible member of the international community," Premium Times quoted an official who commented under anonymity because he had no permission to speak on the controversy.

The source added that UAE expected Nigeria to act, but Nigeria failed to act and they were embarrassed.