By Ameh Ejekwonyilo
Abuja
Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke has refuted a media report that allegedly accused him of being involved in a multi-billion naira fraud.
In a statement issued yesterday by the Director of Information at the ministry, Mr Charles Nwodo, Adoke said report was “false, baseless and reckless”.
The statement read in part: “The attention of the Attorney General of the Federation has been drawn to a publication by Premium Times of Tuesday, 24th March, 2015, with the caption ‘Investigation: Attorney-General, Adoke, in shady deal that may rob Nigeria of N549billion’.
“The same story was rehashed in the Leadership newspaper of Wednesday, March 25, 2015, with the title “Adoke in Fresh Multi-billion Naira Scam”.
“These publications sought to portray the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN, CFR as not being interested in vigorously defending the suit filed by Addax Petroleum Development (Nigeria) Limited and Addax Petroleum Exploration (Nigeria) Limited against the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Ministry of Petroleum Resources (MPR), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) and the Attorney General of the Federation(AGF) relating to the fiscal incentives granted by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2001 to the Plaintiff Companies”.
The statement further stated: “It must be stated very clearly that the Attorney General of the Federation is only a nominal Party to the aforementioned suit.
“The principal agencies of Government concerned with the issues in dispute are the Ministry of Petroleum Resources (MPR), the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).”
It explained: “When the Originating Summons was served on the Attorney General of the Federation, appropriate steps were taken to request the aforementioned agencies to furnish the office with the relevant information and documents necessary to prepare and file a Counter-Affidavit to defend the suit.”
The statement urged Nigerians to discountenance the report, while assuring that the matter would be vigorously pursued to its logical end.