A former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, has lauded the court judgment that upheld his no-case submission against the charges filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

This was contained in a statement titled ‘I have been vindicated”, and made available to newsmen shortly after the court ruling.

A Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, discharged and acquitted the senior advocate of money laundering charges brought against him by the EFCC.

“I find that there is no evidence to prove the alleged offences against the first defendant (Adoke),” the presiding judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo, said.

According to the charge, the anti-graft agency alleged that Adoke accepted a cash payment of the dollar equivalent of N300 million from Aliyu Abubakar in August 2013 in Abuja.

This action is said to be an offence punishable under Section 16(2)(b) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 as amended.

The former AGF said, “Today, the Federal High Court, Abuja, Coram Inyang Ekwo, J upheld the No-case Submission I made to the spurious charges levied against me by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for the official role I played in the implementation of the 2006 Settlement Agreement entered into by the Federal Government of Nigeria and Malabu Oil & Gas Limited (Malabu) over the disputed ownership of OPL 245.


“It has been a harrowing experience that has lasted for over nine years due mainly to the antics of the prosecution, which hurriedly filed charges against me to satisfy some narrow political interests but became reluctant to prove their case for want of evidence.

“The trial became an object of a political witch hunt and scapegoatism, as the EFCC needed to hang corruption charges on my neck as a way of sustaining FGN’s claims against the implementation of the Settlement Agreement in foreign jurisdictions such as Milan, Italy, the United States of America and the United Kingdom.”

He added that the case has deprived him of his livelihood as a lawyer and arbitrator since 2016, and affected his personal life and reputation.

“God was kind to me by granting me good health and friends who came to my aid in several ways,” he stated.

He said he had an option of considering a legal action over his ordeal.

“Now that the trial is over, I have the option of suing the Nigerian state and all those who contributed to my ordeal.

“While contemplating the next steps, I leave all my traducers to their conscience and the judgment of posterity.

“Despite my ordeal, my faith in the Nigeria project is not misplaced or shaken. I will continue to contribute my quota to the progress and development of our great country,” Adoke concluded.

Labour Party (LP) chieftain, Kenneth Okonkwo, has criticised the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over the management of the foreign exchange market, saying that any forex management that does not translate to economic prosperity and stability can’t be termed successful.

“I do not think the CBN understands what it is doing,” Okonkwo said on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a programme aired on Channels Television on Friday.

“When you talk about the freefall of the naira, the worst case is when forex management affects manufacturers. The success of the forex management is in its ability to ensure stability and sustenance, not whether it is high or low. The greatest threat to the economy is uncertainty,” he said.

According to the former spokesman for the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign, the duty of the CBN is to ensure macroeconomic sustainability.

He claimed the present All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government has foisted macroeconomic volatility on manufacturers who are now groaning under the weight of forex instability, high diesel prices, and of late, electricity tariff hike.

Okonkwo said the government is punishing Nigerians on Band A for having more hours of power supply.

“Some people living in rich neighbourhood are not rich,” he said, explaining that some Nigerians live in boys’ quarters in those neighbourhoods classified as Band A.

He said Nigerians are beginning to be aware that political power lies in their hands and they are beginning to take decisions to take their destinies in their own hands.

Prices of food and basic commodities have gone through the roof in the last weeks, as Nigerians battle one of the country’s toughest economic crises sparked by the current government’s twin policies of petrol subsidy removal and unification of forex windows.

The naira has appreciated against the dollar in recent weeks, gaining over 40%, from about N1,900/$ to about N1,100/$1 now.

As the naira rebounds, Nigerians expect significant reduction in the prices of food and basic commodities but this hasn’t been the case with inflation rate at 33.20% and interest rate at 24.75%.

According to the latest report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the inflation for March 2024 was largely driven by increase in food such as garri, millet, yam, bread coupled with energy and housing costs.

However, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, on Tuesday, said the Nigerian economy is moving in the right direction as policies of the new administration has started slowing down food inflation.

Yunusa Tanko, the spokesperson for the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has alleged a fresh orchestrated plan to blackmail his principal.

Tanko made this known in a statement made available to newsmen on Friday in Onitsha, Anambra.

According to him, some people operating under the guise of civil society and non-governmental organizations have been recruited by some powerful political interests to accuse Peter Obi of playing religious politics.

He debunked the allegations that Obi is indulging in religious politics, stressing the blackmail aims to malign the former Governor’s purely altruistic motives in supporting underprivileged Nigerians of all faiths.


Tanko noted that Peter Obi fully understands the constitutional dictates of separation of church/mosque and state and that Nigeria is an undisputed secular state.

He further said that his primary concern in and out of public office has always been pursuing the welfare of society’s underprivileged, whom he believes should have a better life given the abundant human and natural resources bestowed on this country by God.

The statement read, “The Peter Obi Media Reach (POMR) wishes to alert the public of a fresh orchestrated design to blackmail the 2023 labour party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, by linking him to frivolous, malicious and unsubstantiated allegations of indulging in religious politics.


“We are aware that some persons operating under the guise of civil society, and non-governmental organizations, but acting at the behest of some powerful political interests, have been deployed to petition and accuse Obi of playing religious politics.

“The aim is to malign Mr Obi’s purely altruistic motives in supporting underprivileged Nigerians of all faiths. The ploy is to erroneously claim that he goes to religious places to carry out political campaigns off-season.

“We should ordinarily ignore such mischievous ploys as they are only intended to distract attention from Mr Obi’s patriotic and compassionate position.

For the avoidance of doubt and the protection of the gullible in their midst, it has become imperative to restate the truth and the facts.

“What remains an undisputed fact, is that Peter Obi’s charity work predates politics and he would never be intimidated to change this personal disposition, which he believes is an assignment for him from his creator.

“We, therefore, urge the public to ignore any insinuations of co-mingling politics with religion; and see them as a grand design to limit Mr. Obi’s freedom of movement and citizenship welfare action.”