The Federal Government has said that former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Mohammed Adoke, SAN, was actively involved in negotiating the troubled P&ID deal, contrary to his (Adoke) claim that P&ID happened after he had left office.
Office of the current Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, in a statement, said “The AGF is aware of current reports in the media relating to a letter he has received from Adoke, SAN, with regards to the ongoing dispute between the Federal Government and P&ID.
“In the letter, Mr Adoke had demanded an apology and “appropriate monetary compensation” which the Attorney General’s office considers entirely misconceived.
“Investigations continue into Mr Adoke’s involvement in the OPL 245 deal, and also in relation to the disastrous gas supply agreement made with the BVI shell company P&ID.
“Adoke seeks to wash his hands of any involvement in settlement negotiations with P&ID, stating that all settlement negotiations with P&ID took place after he had left office as the-then Attorney General of the Federation. This is simply untrue, as settlement negotiations took place in 2012, 2014, and during Spring 2015, when Adoke was the-then Attorney General of the Federation.
“It is noteworthy that Adoke is being represented by Paul Erokoro, SAN. Mr Erokoro, SAN, has, in fact, recently provided a sworn witness statement concerning certain factual matters on behalf of P&ID in the proceedings in London (in which he made no mention of the matters which he has raised in his letter).
“The FRN took all reasonable steps and followed due process to uncover and investigate the fraud at the heart of the contract, to ensure that these serious allegations of bribery and corruption were only made when incontrovertible evidence was uncovered.
“The FRN is relying on ongoing investigations across multiple jurisdictions to build its case against P&ID. Investigations into the GSPA are ongoing, and we are firmly committed to overturning the injustice of the multibillion-dollar award.
“$10 billion represents a massive share of Nigeria’s national budgets. It is our duty as a government to ensure that justice is secured for the Nigerian people, no matter how long it takes.”
