President Bola Tinubu has ordered the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, and other agencies of government to clear all court cases around the $1.3bn deepwater OPL 245 oil block located in southern Niger Delta.
Other agencies that also received the order include the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
Lokpobiri disclosed this in Abuja on Wednesday, as he revealed that parties in the deal were currently negotiating to end the over 28 years crisis and litigations surrounding the prolific oil block in the next one month.
The Malabu OPL 245 deal and subsequent litigation with the Nigerian government is a complex and long-standing saga involving allegations of corruption, fraud, and legal battles.
The oil block in question, OPL 245, is considered one of Nigeria’s most prolific oil blocks. In 1998, Malabu Oil and Gas, a company with links to former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum, Dan Etete, acquired the block for $2m.
In 2001, the Federal Government under former President Olusegun Obasanjo revoked Malabu’s license due to “questionable practices.”
In 2006, Malabu challenged the revocation in court, eventually reaching an out-of-court settlement with the government under former President Umaru Yar’Adua.
Lokpobiri stated that if Nigeria fails to get the investments in the block now, the country would never be able to attract capital to invest, because it would require billions of dollars.
The block had witnessed international cases as investigations and legal cases were also opened in the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, and Netherlands.
On the outcome, it was reported that in 2018, the US Department of Justice closed its investigation without charges. In 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission closed its investigation without finding evidence of wrongdoing.
In 2021, the Italian court acquitted Eni, Shell, and all defendants of corruption charges. In 2022, Nigeria dropped its $1.1bn suit against Eni and lost its $1.7bn claim against JP Morgan terkait with the deal.
In 2023, the former Attorney-General, Abubakar Malami, advised Buhari to terminate further litigation due to low chances of success and potential economic benefits of developing the block.
The Malabu OPL 245 deal remains controversial, with lingering questions about corruption and the legality of the transactions. The Nigerian government is considering ending further litigation and potentially allowing development of the block to proceed.
The Malabu OPL 245 case highlights the challenges of corruption in the extractive industries and the complexities of international legal battles involving multiple jurisdictions.
The case also raises questions about the role of Western oil companies in potentially fueling corruption in resource-rich countries.
