July 17, (THEWILL) — OPL 245 is probably the most well-known oil block to be awarded by the Nigerian government—known less for its vast reserves than for the years of legal disputes and international arbitrations surrounding its acquisition. The controversies involve the Federal Government of Nigeria, Shell, and Malabu Oil, alongside a cast of actors across courtrooms in Nigeria, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Italy.
Although OPL 245 is a deep offshore oil asset off the Niger Delta, similar to other blocks aimed at promoting indigenous participation in the oil and gas sector, it has become enmeshed in a complex web of corruption allegations, bribery claims, and prolonged melodrama—both within and outside the courtroom.
In his earlier book Burden of Service, Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN, touched on this controversial Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL), also known as Malabugate. In the current work, a sequel, Adoke turns the spotlight fully on OPL 245, giving a detailed and expansive account of the allegations leveled against him, the “clinical persecution” (p. 149) he endured, and the “lies and lies and more lies” (p. 153) he says were told against him—culminating in his eventual vindication.
Adoke’s new book, OPL 245, is by his own admission “therapeutic”—written to set the record straight, to document the facts, and to clear his name. At the heart of it is his role as Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice from April 2010 to June 2015.
When the OPL 245 saga began in 2003, Adoke was not yet in government. He was also not involved when the Obasanjo administration revoked the block on July 2, 2001, or when the Settlement Agreement was signed in 2006. But upon becoming AGF in 2010, OPL 245 became one of the cases he inherited (p. 23). During his tenure, the Jonathan administration confirmed the award of OPL 245 to Malabu. According to Adoke, the politicisation of OPL 245 was the doing of President Olusegun Obasanjo “who woke up one morning and set OPL 245 on fire” (p. 21), revoking the block without cause, triggering years of litigation between NNPC, Malabu, and Shell that stalled the asset’s development.
One of Adoke’s early tasks as AGF was to resolve the legal impasse. He advised that the 2006 Settlement Agreement remained binding. In the Resolution Agreement of April 2011, Shell and Nigeria Agip Exploration Ltd. (NAE) were to pay $1.3 billion into a JP Morgan escrow account in London, with $1.092 billion to be paid to Malabu as “full and final settlement.” As Nigeria’s Chief Law Officer, Adoke believed he had acted appropriately. This book, however, explores the consequences of that decision—particularly the legal and personal battles that followed.
On May 29, 2015, after President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office, Adoke said he was warned to expect persecution. He left the country, ostensibly for further studies at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, but his travails began shortly after. He was accused of receiving a N300 million (US$2.2 million) bribe from the OPL 245 deal, and also faced money laundering and abuse of office allegations linked to another $801 million. Though he insisted on his innocence, Adoke remained in exile from May 2015 until December 19, 2019.
During that period, the EFCC filed multiple charges against him. His name surfaced in legal matters in Italy, the US, and the UK. His home was raided in the Netherlands and in Nigeria. A global arrest warrant was issued, leading to a 35-day detention by INTERPOL in Dubai. Upon his return to Nigeria, he was detained by the EFCC for another 55 days and was even questioned in relation to the P&ID case. It wasn’t until April 2024 that Nigerian courts acquitted him of all charges—after nearly eight years of persecution and threats to his life.
In his words:
“…when President Muhammadu Buhari came to power in 2015, he chose to come after me. Agreed that he misruled Nigeria for eight years, but he at least got distinction in one thing: destroying my name. He turned me to the poster boy of a scandal that never was…”
The book is divided into five parts and 26 chapters—a no-holds-barred, cold-blooded account of Adoke’s battle for vindication. In Chapter 5, he calls former President Obasanjo “clever by half” and says he owes Nigerians an apology for “blatantly lying” (p. 43). On President Buhari, Adoke claims the pursuit against him was “vengeance for the Abacha family,” saying Buhari “harbored a collection of bitter feelings against me for reasons best known to him” (p.13).
Part One, titled “Intrigue and Vendetta,” sets the stage. Part Two, “A Den of Defamers,” targets those Adoke considers his persecutors—Buhari, Professor John Paden (Buhari’s biographer), Muhammadu Abacha, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Bode Johnson, Adoke’s successor Abubakar Malami, Global Witness, Italian prosecutor Fabio de Pasquale, HEDA Resource Centre, Sahara Reporters (called “an-anything-goes-website” on p. 63), and Premium Times. Chapter 8, “The Ruthless Enforcer,” focuses on the EFCC under Ibrahim Magu, whom Adoke accuses of running a “Magu pandemic” (p. 74). He dismisses EFCC prosecutor Bala Sanga as “one lowlife… miserable” (p. 73).
Osinbajo is described as “the Conflicted Mr. Clean” (p. 90); Malami is “a betrayer and a viper” (Chapter 10); and Fabio De Pasquale, “the Italian Jobber,” whose demotion by Italy’s judicial council Adoke gleefully notes—just as he mocks Godwin Emefiele’s own downfall (pp. 256–258): “Death finally caught up with the hunter.”
Part III, “Harassed and Embarrassed,” recounts Adoke’s 35-day detention in Dubai and 55-day EFCC detention. Part IV, “Trials and Triumphs,” dives into the numerous cases in the US, UK, Italy, and Nigeria, offering robust reporting and illuminating documentation. Yet, the author concludes that despite the legal triumphs, justice was not served to the Nigerian public. The litigation over OPL 245, he argues, became “a monumental waste of resources” (p. 200)—a goldmine not just in oil, but for lawyers and government officials.
The final part, “Reflections and Recollections” (pp. 246–266), ends on a deeply personal note. Chapter 26 opens with: “I was discharged and acquitted but the scars remain” (p. 253). Adoke laments how he rose to the esteemed role of AGF only to be vilified by “a desperate, vicious and ruthless government”—his words for the Buhari administration.
Four major subtexts run through the book:
- The use of state institutions for personal persecution.
- The fickleness and hatred of men.
- The manipulation of the media.
- Why well-meaning citizens often avoid public office.
After over a decade of litigation, Adoke asks pointedly: “Who truly short-changed Nigeria—Adoke or Buhari?” Readers may find their answer within these pages.
The book is dedicated “to all who stood by me when I was going through the darkest era of my life. My vindication is a victory for those who gave me a benefit of the doubt.” He names Ibrahim Lamorde, President Jonathan (a “super respecter of the law” – p.84), the late Abba Kyari, Ambassador Baba Kamara, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, and others.
Adoke ends the book with a prayer: “The Almighty, to whom all glory belongs, will reward every single person who stood by me.”
From Nagazi to Nigeria’s top legal seat, and now an author and public intellectual, Adoke may find some healing in this brutally honest account. The book has strong merit.
Reuben Abati
