The Human and Environmental Development Agenda has alleged that the former attorney general of the federation, Muhammed Adoke, received bribes totaling $ 2.2 million to deprive Nigeria of $1.1 billion in payment and $5.7 billion in royalties, among other benefits, in the OPL-245 oil contract deal.

HEDA’s condemnation came days after Mr Adoke unveiled his memoir titled ‘OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3bn Nigerian Oil Block’, drawing widespread comments from Nigerians.

In a statement by its chairman, Olarewaju Suraju, on Sunday, the civil society organisation condemned Mr Adoke’s book as an attempt to distort facts concerning the controversial Malabu OPL 245 oil deal.

“Adoke’s memoir is an attempt by a man in need of psychological attention to distort facts, feed on public amnesia to mislead the public, contradict of earlier claims in his previous book “burden of (did)service” and absolve himself of responsibility and culpability in the $1.1 billion oil block scandal wish he was charged for directly receiving a $2.2million cash and laundered same through a Bureau de Change and a bank manager in Kano,” the statement said.

The civil society organisation further accused Mr Adoke of fabricating stories in relation to the oil deal, alleging the former attorney general’s actions “between 2010 and 2015 undermined Nigeria’s national interest and facilitated the unlawful transfer of public funds to private entities under the guise of resolving ownership disputes over OPL 245”.

HEDA accused Mr Adoke of playing a central role in approving the controversial settlement between Shell, Eni, and Malabu Oil & Gas Limited, “despite numerous red flags”.

Email correspondences and documents presented by the organisation and its partners as evidence had been officially tendered in courts in Milan, Switzerland, and London, and formed part of the evidence used by prosecutors in foreign jurisdictions, HEDA alleged.

Describing the memoir as libelous and defamatory, the civil society organisation announced its preparation to publish the true story behind the deal, accusing the former minister of abandoning the forgery allegations against HEDA.

“We will not allow falsehoods to stand unchallenged, especially when they seek to discredit the work of patriotic Nigerians and mislead the public about a case of such national importance, using the proceeds of criminal activities for image laundering,” HEDA stated.

The organisation reaffirmed its commitment to holding public officers accountable, noting that Mr Adoke was not acquitted in his prosecution by the EFCC.

“HEDA reiterated its commitment to holding public officials accountable and ensuring that justice is served in the long-running Malabu oil scandal, which has drawn scrutiny from anti-corruption bodies and courts across multiple jurisdictions.

“Adoke, contrary to claim in his tissue of lies called a book, was only discharged and never acquitted in his prosecution by the EFCC,” the statement explained.

Mr Adoke, however, dismissed HEDA’s allegations.

“Let them write their version. I have nothing more to say,” the former justice minister told Peoples Gazette in response to HEDA’s claims.

In 2020, the EFCC arraigned the former justice minister on the charge of using the public office for personal gain.

The anti-graft agency re-arraigned Mr Adoke in 2021, despite his petition to the police, in which he accused HEDA and others of forging documents used to aid his conviction in Italy, the United Kingdom, and Nigeria.

Mr Adoke was let off the hook last year after the anti-graft agency conceded it did not have sufficient evidence to challenge the no-case application by the former minister.