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Mohammed Bello Adoke CFR (born 1 September 1963) is a Nigerian lawyer. He is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and was appointed Minister for Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation on 6 April 2010, when Acting President Goodluck Jonathan announced his new cabinet.

Early life and career

Adoke was born on 1 September 1963 in Kogi State. He gained a degree in law from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1985, and was called to the Nigerian Bar in October 1986.

He also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in International Tax Law from Robert Kennedy University in Zurich, Switzerland and a Diploma in International Commercial Arbitration from Keble College, Oxford.

He held positions with the Kwara State Schools' Management Board, Kano State Ministry of Justice and private law firms before establishing his own practice. He was a member of the Board of Peugeot Automobile from 2006 to 2008 and Chairman of the Board Audit Committee of Unity Bank.

He has acted as an arbitrator in England and Nigeria, handling commercial disputes involving Shell Ultra Deep and the Federal Government of Nigeria, Global Steel Holdings and the Bureau of Public Enterprises Investment, and AES Nigeria Barge and Lagos State Government.

His appointment as Minister of Justice and Attorney General on 6 April 2010 was seen as an attempt by Jonathan to introduce a fresh approach in pushing through electoral reforms. His tenure as Attorney General ended on 29 May 2015.

Malabu oil deal fraud

On 28 December 2015 Adoke was invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for questioning over the Malabu Oil deal. He was questioned in connection to the missing £22.5m (N6.18billion) loot of the Sani Abacha which was recovered from Island of Jersey. A threeman team madeup of Federal government officials which including Adoke was setup to monitor and recover the funds. In March 2016 it was reported that Adoke's home in Netherlands was searched as well as the Royal Dutch Shell headquarters due an investigation into the missing funds and receiving bribe from the Malabu Oil deal.

On 21 December 2016, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission officially filed charges against Adoke on a nine count charge that as at when he was the Attorney General of Nigeria he approved a transfer transaction of $1.1 billion to Nigerian bank accounts managed by Dan Etete former Minister of Petroleum. The $1.1billion was paid by Royal Dutch Shell and Eni to the Federal government account for OPL 245 oil bloc.

On 17 April 2019, a Nigerian High Court in Abuja issued an arrest warrant for Adoke and four others for failing to appear at trial in connection with Malabu Oil deal.

Works

• Burden of Service: Reminiscences of Nigeria's Former Attorney General (2019)

See also

• Nigeria's 155billion naira presidential scam: How Jonathan's associates, ministers shared largesse

References

1. ^ "Profile of Mohammed Bello Adoke, FCIArb, S.A.N. General Counsel, M.A. BELLO & CO". Point Blank News. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
2. ^ "Ministers - the Profile". This Day. 2010-04-07. Retrieved 2010-04-13 – via allAfrica.
3. Nnamdi, Onyirioha (2019-08-05). "EFCC is wasting taxpayers' money on my trial - Ex-AGF Adoke". Legit.ng. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
4. "Madueke, Adoke, Wya, Suleiman, get juicy portfolios". People's Daily. 2010-04-05. Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
5. Godwin, Ameh Comrade (2016-02-23). "Malabu oil ordeal: Adoke attacks Atiku, Abacha's family". Daily Post. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
6. "EFCC to go after top lawyer over missing N6bn loot". Pulse. 2016-02-15. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
7. "12 things you should know about controversial deal". Pulse. 2017-04-12. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
8. "Shell Offices Raided in Nigerian Corruption Probe". The Maritime Executive. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
9. "Former Nigerian Attorney General Bayo Ojo Quizzed By EFCC Over $1.2 billion Malabu Scam". Sahara Reporters. 2016-02-11. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
10. Onochie, Bridget Chiedu (2020-01-21). "FG files fresh charges against Adoke, others over Malabu oil deal". The Guardian. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
11. Adeyemi, Muyiwa; Onochie, Bridget Chiedu; Okafor, Chido (2016-12-21). "EFCC files charges against Adoke, Etete, others over Malabu oil deal". The Guardian. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
12. "$1.1bn Malabu Oil Scam: Ex-AGF Adoke Sent $800m To Ex-minister, Firm – EFCC". Sahara Reporters. 2016-12-21. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
13. Gatti, James Ball, Claudio. "Shell Shocks: How One Of The World's Biggest Oil Firms Secured A $1.3 Billion Deal Mired In Corruption Allegations". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 2019-08-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
14. "Nigerian court orders arrest of Dante Etete, Mohammed Adoke, others over Malabu oil scandal". Pulse. 2019-04-17. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
15. "Nigeria issues arrest warrants for ex-ministers over Malabu oil deal". Reuters. 2019-04-17. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
16. "OPL 245: Adoke kicks as court orders his arrest". TheCable. 2019-04-17. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
17. "Attorney-General Adoke and the burden of freedom, by Chidi Odinkalu". Vanguard. 29 April 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2024.

External links

• "Bello Adoke at 60 and Buhari's Legacy". This Day. 5 September 2023 – via PressReader.

• 1963 births
• Living people
• Justice ministers of Nigeria
• Attorneys general of Nigeria
• Ahmadu Bello University alumni
• Alumni of Keble College, Oxford
• People from Kogi State
• Commanders of the Order of the Federal Republic