Adoke to spend Christmas, New Year in EFCC custody

Mohammed Bello Adoke, former Attorney General and Minister of Justice of Nigeria will be celebrating the Christmas and New Year festivities in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, after the commission got the nod of the court to detain him for 14 days.

Adoke was picked up on Dec. 19 by the INTERPOL on his arrival from Dubai at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, and handed over to the EFCC. Adoke returned to the country after five years of self exile in Dubai

Justice Othman Musa granted the order after EFCC brought a motion ex-parte through its counsel Ms Fatima Mustapha, seeking to hold the former minister in its custody for 14 days.

The order was to enable the anti-graft agency conclude its investigation on Adoke over corruption allegations.

EFCC had in 2017 filed charges against Shell Nigeria Exploration Production Company Limited and 10 others, including Adoke and Nigeria Agip Exploration Limited.

EFCC in the suit marked FCT/HC/CR/124/17, accused the defendants of fraudulently allocating the Oil Prospecting Licence 245, otherwise known as Malabu Oil.

They were also accused of other forms of offences to the tune of about $1.2billion, forgery of bank documents, bribery and corruption.

The alleged $1.2 billion scam involved the transfer of the OPL 245, purportedly from Malabu Oil and Gas Limited to Shell Nigeria Exploration Production Company. Limited and Nigeria Agip Exploration Limited.