More troubles await a former Attorney General of Federation and Minister of Justice, Bello Adoke, who is standing trial over an alleged $1 billion Malabu oil deal as fresh evidence links a forged email address to Aliyu Abubakar – an accomplice and one of those standing trial.
Adoke, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, had earlier claimed that the email provided to the Milan court by the UK authorities was forged.
The email was sent to an employee of JP Morgan Chase, the bank that held the proceeds of the deal on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
It was signed by Mohammed Bello Adoke.
But the matter has taken a new dimension following an investigation of documents filed with the Corporate Affairs Commission by a company owned by Aliyu Abubakhar, who was charged alongside Adoke in Nigeria with offences related to the OPL 245 deal.
Investigation by SaharaReporters revealed that the said email address was used in the bank documents relating to a First Bank account for Novel Properties and Development Company Ltd, and also showed the email agroupproperties@yahoo.com being given as the contact email for Aliyu Abubakar.
The bank documents form part of the Milan case file and are now public documents.
Also filing registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission showed that agroupproperties@yahoo.com has been used as the email address for a firm, A Group Construction.
The CAC filings included the company special resolution letter, September 26, 2011 and were titled, “Appointment of Company Secretary” which is on the company’s letter head paper with the email address for the company as agroupproperties@yahoo.com.
It was learnt that Novel Properties and Development Company Ltd also received money emanating from the OPL 245 deal to the tune of $30 million.
The Chairman of HEDA Resource, Lanre Suraju, had been invited and detained in April for questioning, following a complaint by Adoke to the Inspector-General of Police on the alleged forgery.
Suraju had denied all the allegations of forging the email, and also HEDA’s international partners Corner House, Global Witness and Re: Common.
It was learnt that Aliyu Abubakar was a founding director and shareholder of A Group Construction and still held those roles in 2011 when the email was sent and when the company received monies from the OPL 245 deal.
Bank documents relating to a First Bank account for Novel Properties and Development Company Ltd also record the email agroupproperties@yahoo.com being given as the contact email for Aliyu Abubakar. The bank documents form part of the Milan case file and are now public documents.
Adoke and Abubakar are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for money laundering and other charges in relation to the OPL 245 deal.
The latest revelation that the email address was directly linked to Aliyu and his companies that benefited from the deal raises more questions for former AGF, Adoke.
Findings also revealed that the anti-graft agency had been provided with the documents and asked to investigate.
