Malabu Oil Scam: Court Issues Arrest Warrant Against Dan Etete, Two Others

The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Gwagwalada, Abuja, has ordered the arrest of a former Minister of Petroleum, Dauzia Loyal Etete, better known as Dan Etete, in connection with the Malabu Oil scam.
Justice Abubakar Kutigi ordered the arrest of Etete along with Munamuna Seidougha, and Jospeph Amaran.
This followed an ex parte application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which had accused them of playing roles in the alleged fraudulent allocation of the lucrative Oil Processing Licence 245 to Malabu Oil and Gas Limited in 1998.
The three were said to be the owners of Malabu Oil and Gas Limited to which Etete, as the then minister of petroleum under the regime of late Gen Sani Abacha, facilitated the fraudulent allocation of the oil block.
EFCC had named Etete, Seidougha, and Amaran as being on the run in the 42 counts of the alleged fraudulent Malabu Oil transactions recently filed against the immediate-past Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr Mohammed Adoke (SAN), and six others.
Adoke and others had since pleaded not guilty to the charges and were granted bail by the judge earlier, yesterday.
Meanwhile, a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting at Gwagwalada, yesterday, granted bail to the immediate past Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, SAN, to the tune of N50million with one surety in like sum.
The court, in a ruling that was delivered by Justice Abubakar Idris, lso admitted Adoke’s co-defendants – Aliyu Abubakar and Rasky Gbinigie – to bail pending the determination of corruption allegations against them.
While it gave the 2nd defendant, Abubakar bail in the sum of N50million, it granted the 3rd defendant, Gbinijie bail in the sum of N10million.
It maintained that the sureties must be responsible citizens that must depose affidavits of means.
It said the sureties must be resident within the jurisdiction of the court and must own verifiable landed properties worth the bail sum.
The court further ordered the sureties to tender their three years tax clearance certificates, even as it seized international passports of all the defendants, warning them not to travel out of the country without permission.
It held that the defendants must sign a written undertaking not to interfere with any of the prosecution witnesses and to make themselves available for trial at all times.
Justice Kutigi warned that breach of any of the conditions would warrant automatic revocation of the defendants’ bail.