OPL245: Adoke releases book, details role of EFCC in suppressing facts in attempt to secure conviction

Firmer Attorney-General of the federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke says he has forgiven everyone behind his ordeal in the prosecution of the OPL245 oil block litigation.

Adoke spoke in Abuja on Thursday at the public presentation of his memoir, OPL245: Inside Story of the $1.3 billion Nigerian oil block.

He said the motive behind the book was not to denigrate anyone but to set the records straight.

The former AGF said he suffered reputation damage over the lawful role he played in the implementation of the agreement pertaining to the OPL245 case.

He accused the investigators and prosecutors of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of suppressing evidence and intimidating witnesses to secure conviction in the OPL245 case.

“I did not set out to denigrate anyone but to set the records straight and provide valuable insights into a transaction that was not only carried out in furtherance of the national interest but also to safeguard Nigeria’s economic interest as it relates to exploitation of our hydrocarbon resources,” he said.

“Although I was not a party to the 2006 agreement which preceded my appointment as the attorney-general of the federation and minister of justice, my traducers – state and non-state actors – alike ensure that I suffer immense public odium, loss of reputation, and family life for the role I played in ensuring the implementation of an agreement in 2011.

“Notwithstanding, I was only carrying out the lawful directive of the president in the exercise of his executive powers under the Constitution.

“Permit me to say that I have forgiven all those who had a hand in my ordeal.

“With the public presentation of this book, I say boldly and clearly that I admired the courage of Ibrahim Mustapha Magu in coming forward to make up with me, apologise to me, and sympathise for the role each and every one of them played in my travail. I have forgiven him.”