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Ex-Attorney General of the Federation Mohammed Adoke
A former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, has lauded the court judgment that upheld his no-case submission against the charges filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
This was contained in a statement titled ‘I have been vindicated”, and made available to newsmen shortly after the court ruling.
A Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, discharged and acquitted the senior advocate of money laundering charges brought against him by the EFCC.
“I find that there is no evidence to prove the alleged offences against the first defendant (Adoke),” the presiding judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo, said.
According to the charge, the anti-graft agency alleged that Adoke accepted a cash payment of the dollar equivalent of N300 million from Aliyu Abubakar in August 2013 in Abuja.
This action is said to be an offence punishable under Section 16(2)(b) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 as amended.
The former AGF said, “Today, the Federal High Court, Abuja, Coram Inyang Ekwo, J upheld the No-case Submission I made to the spurious charges levied against me by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for the official role I played in the implementation of the 2006 Settlement Agreement entered into by the Federal Government of Nigeria and Malabu Oil & Gas Limited (Malabu) over the disputed ownership of OPL 245.
“It has been a harrowing experience that has lasted for over nine years due mainly to the antics of the prosecution, which hurriedly filed charges against me to satisfy some narrow political interests but became reluctant to prove their case for want of evidence.
“The trial became an object of a political witch hunt and scapegoatism, as the EFCC needed to hang corruption charges on my neck as a way of sustaining FGN’s claims against the implementation of the Settlement Agreement in foreign jurisdictions such as Milan, Italy, the United States of America and the United Kingdom.”
He added that the case has deprived him of his livelihood as a lawyer and arbitrator since 2016, and affected his personal life and reputation.
“God was kind to me by granting me good health and friends who came to my aid in several ways,” he stated.
He said he had an option of considering a legal action over his ordeal.
“Now that the trial is over, I have the option of suing the Nigerian state and all those who contributed to my ordeal.
“While contemplating the next steps, I leave all my traducers to their conscience and the judgment of posterity.
“Despite my ordeal, my faith in the Nigeria project is not misplaced or shaken. I will continue to contribute my quota to the progress and development of our great country,” Adoke concluded.
