Again Malami accused of sabotage as Nigeria makes shameful showing at Malabu trial

The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, has been accused of ‘disastrously’ mismanaging the federal government’s intervention in the ongoing Malabu scandal trial in an Italian court.

The Italian court postponed the trial of Royal Dutch Shell and Eni executives over alleged corruption in Nigeria to May 14.

The trial was originally expected to start in a Milan court on Monday but the judge said due to a high number of cases, it would be transferred to another chamber to avoid further delays.

Commenting on the federal government’s representation and Malami’s role at the trial, Human Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), one of the activist groups that sparked off the trial, said it was shocked and deeply disturbed by the “confused appearance” of the federal government in court on Monday.

This will not be the first time that Malami would be accused of attempting to sabotage the case on suspicion of compromise.

The AGF had attracted widespread criticism from home and abroad following his September 27, 2017 letter in which he advised the president to pursue Nigeria’s possible investment in the disputed oil blocks rather than trying to repossess it or prosecute former government officials or Shell or Agip-Eni chiefs involved.

Read also: MALABU: Int’l anti-graft bodies suspect AGF Malami may have been compromised

In a statement by Olanrewaju Suraju, its chairman, HEDA said “while we applaud the action of the Federal Government to intervene in the case, the presence of two lawyers with contradictory instructions was an embarrassment and presents Nigeria in a poor light before the Milan Court”.

“We were further shocked that one of these lawyers, Mr Sedu, declared his intention not to ask for damages from Eni,” Suraju said.

“There is now a very real risk that both instructed lawyers will not be recognized by the court, leaving the FRN out in the cold.

“Powers of Attorney to represent Nigeria should not be handed out like confetti. The Attorney General must explain why he has so disastrously mismanaged Nigeria’s intervention, potentially losing the chances of recovering billions of dollars in compensation to Nigeria.

“HEDA is calling on the President of Nigeria, Mr. Muhammadu Buhari to, as a matter of urgency, call his Attorney General to order, considering the what happened today in Milan and adversary actions of the AGF in the recent past.”

The case which has been the subject of much controversy,  involves the 2011 purchase by Eni and Shell of Nigeria’s OPL-245 offshore oilfield – one of Africa’s most valuable oil blocks – for about $1.3 billion.

Eni — also charged with corruption in Algeria in a separate trial — and Shell stand accused of handing out bribes during the 2011 purchase of OPL245, an offshore oil block estimated to hold nine billion barrels of crude, for $1.3 billion (1.06 billion euros).

Prosecutors said bribes were paid to win the license to explore the field, which has never entered into production.

 

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