About one week after the arrest of former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, operatives of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, are set to take on him regarding his involvement in the Halliburton, Malabu deals scandal.
According to Vanguard, sources in the anti-graft agency revealed that the former Minister’s claim in his recently published book, on Halliburton’s $24 million fine settlement shared by five lawyers, $2 million settlement in the controversial Malabu deal, recommendation for the payment of $185 million to obscure Process and Industrial Development as well as many other controversial deals that have denied Nigeria of huge revenue had been isolated for ‘clearance’ by Adoke.
“We really need Adoke’s detailed explanations on these and many other issues that are very germane to the economy and financial health and image of Nigeria because of the crucial roles he played as a Minister and Attorney-General, when these issues were consummated.
“A case in point is that while some foreign companies admitted paying bribes in the Halliburton case and accepted to pay fines in dollars amounting to N24 million, the money disappeared into the coffers of some persons while the suspect was Minister.
“We really want to know how much was paid by the companies and how much was paid into the Federal Government coffers,” the official said, describing Adoke’s claim in his book Burden of Service: Reminiscences of Nigeria’s Former Attorney-General, as outlandish and untenable. On why the operatives would be grilling the former Minister when he was still weak and in pains, the source said Adoke was in good medical state and that EFCC medical doctors were equal to the task of meeting his medical needs.
“I think Adoke has no problems and if any medical situation arises, our medical team is able to attend to him. So far, we have given him the best of treatment to enable him to speak up and be able to prove his innocence in court,” the source explained.
The report further said EFCC had reviewed the charges earlier slammed on Adoke and is set to dock him as soon as the 14-day window of detention granted by a Federal Capital Territory Court lapses early next year.
The former Minister is said to be cooperating with his interrogators since he was taken into custody on December 19, 2019, upon his arrival from the United Arab Emirate, where he had been for over a month.
