For allegedly circulating falsehood against former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Mohammed Adoke in the ongoing
Malabu Oil trial, the Chairman of Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), Mr. Olanrewaju Suraju has been arraigned before a Federal High Court, Abuja.
In a two count amended charge, Suraju was alleged to have forged an e-mail evidence which was presented against Adoke in the Malabu Oil trial in Milan, Italy.
In a petition addressed to the office of the Inspector General of Police(IGP), the former Attorney General of the Federation had sought for the investigation of an e-mail evidence presented against him, saying that the evidence was forged to incriminate him.
In suit FHC/ABJ/CS/370/2021, the human rights activist was accused of intentionally circulating an audio telephone interview between one Ms. Carlamaria Rumur, a reporter with RIAReporter in Italy, about Adoke via his twitter handle @HEDAagenda, which he knew to be false.
In count two, the defendant is accused of committing the same offense in count one via his Facebook handle @HEDAResourcecentre.
Suraju however pleaded not guilty when the charged were read to him during court proceedings on Friday.
The presiding judge, Justice Binta Nyako granted the accused bail
following a passionate plea by his counsel, Mr. Muiz Banire, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) to grant his client bail charge.
Justice Nyako ordered that the defendant should tender a cheque of N7 million to the court’s registrar, being the highest sum of penalty for the offence upon conviction.
The suit was adjourned to May 10 for hearing.
The arraignment had suffered three earlier adjournments on account of the prosecution and Mrs Nyako’s absence.
Recall that the OPL 245 also known as Malabu Oil deal which was awarded by the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Chief Dan Etete is regarded as the biggest corruption case in the oil sector in Nigeria.
The deal was said to have been controversially agreed on as the Anglo-Dutch , oil giant, Shell Petroleum Development Company and Italian multinational oil company, ENI allegedly bought the oil block illegally.
Adoke is also being tried for being an accomplice in the illegal transfer of the oil block to Shell and ENI and receiving N300 million in connection with the sale of OPL 245.
However, on March 17, 2021, a Milan Court acquitted Shell and ENI from the alleged corruption regarding the purchase of the OML 245 but Adoke alongside other defendants are still standing trial in connection with the illegal oil deal.
In February 2021, Adoke, however raised alarm over the e-mail evidence tendered by prosecutors against him in the Milan court, stating that the email was forged.
According to him, the forged email was meant to create a false link between him and Aliyu Abubakar, a top official during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan and one of the defendants in the trial of the OPL 245 deal.
The Milan prosecutors had alleged that Shell and ENI both pay the sum of $1.1 billion to bribe government officials over the purchase of the oil block.
Etete was alleged to have received $520 million of which he later transferred the funds to Abubakar the founder of the AA Oil.
