Former Attorney- General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), will on Thursday (tomorrow) presents his most awaited and compelling book on one of Nigeria’s most contentious oil deals to Nigerians from all walks of life.
The revealing and incisive book titled: “OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3bn Oil Block,” will be unveiled at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja under the Chairmanship of former President Goodluck Jonathan while Vice President Kashim Shettima is the Special Guest of Honour at the event.
Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde is the Chief Book Presenter while a lawyer, columnist/ journalist, Dr Rueben Abati, will be the Book Reviewer at the event.
It is instructive to note that the OPL 245 Resolution Agreements between
the Nigerian government, Malabu Oil and
Gas Ltd, Shell Plc and Eni of Italy over the
controversial oil block has scaled every judicial and administrative scrutiny in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Italy and Nigeria.
For over eight years, ex AGF Adoke who, in 2011, helped resolve the 10-year-old dispute over the enormously rich block, was hounded by the Nigerian government.
Adoke’s barely disguised offense was his failure to help the powerful family of the late Nigerian dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha — an old-time ally of former President Muhammadu Buhari — get a cut from the sale of the oil block for US$1.1bn.
Lawyers hoping to receive commissions in excess of US$300m worked with Nigerian government officials to criminalize the deal globally but failed spectacularly.
The book also exposes the dirty intrigue, Machiavellian exploits, unbridled politics, crass opportunism and vile vendetta around the world-famous oil block.
In daring detail, OPL 245: The inside story of the $1.3bn Nigerian oil block’, tells the uncensored story of the billion-dollar deal between Shell Plc, Eni S.P.A. and Malabu Oil &
Gas Ltd of Nigeria that went awry.
The deal attracted global attention over allegations of fraud and bribery and was investigated by American, British, Dutch and Italian authorities.
But as the world watched what was touted by UK-based campaigners as “the biggest corporate scandal trial in history”, every piece started falling apart, with an Italian Court concluding that there was no fraud. A UK court ruled likewise in a civil case. This is a story of dirty intrigue, high-wire politics, vendetta and Machiavellian tactics.
Adoke was educated at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria in Nigeria, the Robert Kennedy University, Switzerland, the University of Nottingham, the UK, and the University of Leiden, the Netherlands. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, England. He was a member of the prestigious International Law Commission from 2011 to 2017.
