Nigeria’s former Attorney General has been arrested by the country’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as part of an investigation into one of the oil industry’s biggest corruption scandals.
Mohammed Adoke was arrested by Interpol in November after travelling to Dubai for a medical appointment.
He voluntarily flew back to the West African country on Thursday only to be detained.
The EFCC’s investigation relates to the $1.3 billion sale of a Nigerian offshore oilfield known as OPL 245 by Malabu Oil and Gas in 2011.
Eni SpA and Royal Dutch Shell Plc jointly acquired the field from Malabu, which was owned by former petroleum minister Dan Etete.
Several Nigerian government officials and senior executives from Eni and Royal Dutch Shell have been implicated in legal suits over the sale of the oil field with Shell and Eni denying any wrongdoing.
“His return to Nigeria clears the way for him to answer to the charges against him,” the EFCC said in a statement, following Adoke’s return to Nigeria.
Adoke Returns to Nigeria to Face Corruption Charges
Former Attorney General of the federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, has arrived Nigeria from Dubai.
The ex-AGF left Dubai following pressure from EFCC.#SayNoToCorruption #UnitedAgainstCorruption pic.twitter.com/FiSps0SuDF— EFCC Nigeria (@officialEFCC) December 19, 2019
Adoke’s lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, said the former attorney general was released by Interpol and Dubai authorities after “finding nothing criminal against him.”
“Our client remains very confident that he will be vindicated in the court of law and justice at the end of the day, after a free and fair trial,” Ozekhome said in a written statement.
Adoke served as Attorney general from 2010 to 2015.
Source: Africafeeds.com
