Abacha’s son fights to reclaim $1.3bn oil bloc

Son of the late military Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, Mohammed, had begun a legal battle to reclaim the $1.3 billion Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 245, which was allocated to Malabu Oil Gas Limited. Mohammed Abacha is a Director and the largest shareholder of Malabu Oil Gas Limited. The two other major shareholders are Amafagha Kweku and Hindu Hassan.

There have been a couple of suits before different courts in recent time over the oil bloc. While the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had approached the court seeking a forfeiture order of the said licence from Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited, and Nigerian Agip Exploration Company Limited, the Federal Government had, in another suit, slammed a six-count corruption charge on a former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke (SAN); former Minister of Petroleum, Chief Dan Etete and nine others for their involvement in the sales of the oil bloc to Shell and Agip.

The newest of the suit was filed by Malabu Oil at the registry of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Friday wherein Abacha joined the Federal Government and eight others over alleged illegal re-allocation of the oil bloc to Shell and Agip. Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court, Abuja had, on Friday, in the suit filed by the EFCC, reversed a forfeiture order it earlier granted against Shell and Agip as regards the oil bloc.

The forfeiture order was at the instance of an ex-parte application filed by the anti-graft agency praying the court to take over the licence of the oil bloc from the companies and return it to the Federal Government.

However, on Friday, the day the forfeiture order was reversed, Malabu Oil approached the court on ground that the Federal Government has no power to re-allocate the oil bloc to Shell and Agip while its (Malabu) rights and interests in the oil bloc is still pending. In the fresh suit filed by Malabu Oil through its lawyer, J.A Achimugu, the plaintiff is asking the court to grant an order compelling the Federal Government to restore the rights to the exclusive possession of OPL 245 to it.

The New Telegraph, March 20, 2017

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