International transparency groups raise 25 questions for AGF Malami on OPL 245 contracts

Four civil society groups who have been monitoring the OPL 245 scandal have raised 25 questions for Nigeria’s justice minister, Abubakar Malami, on the handling of the assets recovered in relation to the oil block.

The groups include Corner House, Global Witness and Re:Common – all European transparency organisations – and the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), a Nigerian anti-corruption group.

In the list of questions sent on Sunday, the groups demanded details of agreements the Nigerian government signed with consultants for the recovery of assets related to the OPL 245 saga.

PREMIUM TIMES has reported on the OPL 245 Malabu scandal for which two oil giants, Shell and Eni, and their officials, as well as some former Nigerian public officials are being investigated or prosecuted in various countries.

The oil giants paid about $1.1 billion dollars for the Nigerian oil block in 2011, money that ended up in private hands including that of Nigeria’s former petroleum minister,Dan Etete.

The Nigerian government has now said the whole deal was fraudulent and seeks to recover the total sum from the beneficiaries.

Read the full statement and the 25 questions by the four transparency groups below.