Lagos — Former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Mohammed Adoke, has written to a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Jabi to drop the warrant of arrest against him.
The court had ordered Adoke’s arrest following his failure, alongside four others, to appear in court for their arraignment in the fraudulent charge in the $1.3 billion Malabu Oil deal.
Following their absence in court, and a ruling on the ex-parte motion filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on April 17, Justice D. Z. Senchi ordered that the Nigeria Police, Interpol and other law enforcement agencies to arrest Adoke alongside former Minister of Petroleum, Mr. Dan Etete and four foreigners, Raph Wetzels, Casula Roberto, Pujato Stefano, and Burrato.
However, in a motion on notice to the court through his lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, Adoke asked that the order be dropped, arguing that the court lacked the jurisdiction to issue such an order.
It would be recalled that the EFCC in 2017, in a suit, FCT/HC/CR/124/17, charged Shell Nigeria Exploration Production Co. Ltd, Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited, Eni Spa, Raph Wetzels, Casula Roberto, Pujato Stefeno, Burrato Sebastiano, Etete , Adoke, Aliyu Abubakar and Malabu Oil & Gas Limited, for repeated failure to appear before the court in the fraudulent case on the sale of one of Nigeria’s richest oil blocks, OPL 245.
