(2 minutes read)
· In a major setback to the Nigerian government, it has lost a
bid to postpone a massive claim against oil giants, Eni and Shell, in
a London court.
· The two oil companies paid out about US$1.1 billion to the
Nigerian government accounts in the UK, which is alleged to have
transferred to Malabu, a company in the ownership of the then Nigerian
oil minister Mr. Dan Etete, who in turn transferred over US$ 500
million to Mr. Abubakar Aiyu, who is being prosecuted in Nigeria for
his role in the scandal.
In a major setback to the Nigerian government, it has lost a bid to
postpone a massive claim against oil giants, Eni and Shell, in a
London court.
Royal Dutch Shell and Eni’s filed a case against the Nigerian
government for reclaiming US $1.1 billion over corruption allegations
in Nigeria. On dismissal of the case, the normal hearing of the case
would take place in April this year. The argument of the oil companies
was that the case should be postponed to January 2021 since a
connected case was being heard in a Italian court for ruling.
www.trendsnafrica.com has reported about the case earlier also. This
is about a payout by the oil companies to the Nigerian government,
which is alleged to have been misappropriated by the earlier
dispensation under the previous president Goodluck E Jonathan. A deal
involving oil block known as OPL 245 was struck in 2011 with Nigerian
government as a negotiator in the controversial sale of the oil block
in offshore Nigerian waters. The two oil companies paid out about
US$1.1 billion to the Nigerian government accounts in the UK, which is
alleged to have transferred to Malabu, a company in the ownership of
the then Nigerian oil minister Mr. Dan Etete, who in turn transferred
over US$ 500 million to Mr. Abubakar Aiyu, who is being prosecuted in
Nigeria for his role in the scandal
