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 N549 billion”. The same story was rehashed in the Leadership Newspaper of Wednesday25th March 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 publications also insinuate that as a result of the Attorney General’s perceived unwillingness to defend the action, the Federal Government of Nigeria stands to lose the sum of $2.8 billion or about N549 billion that could have been recovered from Plaintiff Companies. While these assertions are false, it is most unfortunate that some media houses would rush to publish them without making genuine efforts to ascertain their veracity.
This notwithstanding, 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).
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. While the responses and inputs of relevant agencies were being awaited, a Memorandum of Conditional Appearance was filed. The letters from the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation dated 11th February 2015 to the relevant agencies, in this respect, are instructive in that regard.
That no defence of action has been filed to date is because the DPR and FIRS are yet to accede to the request for the relevant information and supporting documents from the Office of the Attorney General so the insinuation is both baseless and reckless. Any lawyer knowledgeable in the rudiments of legal practice would readily agree that a Counter-Affidavit cannot be prepared and filed by the Attorney General of the Federation, or anybody for that matter, without such necessary information and documents.
While the Attorney General of the Federation is not averse to amicable resolution of any disputes where sufficient justification exists for such closure, it is not in his nature to act unilaterally, especially where the Office is a nominal Party (as in this case) nor is it in his character to coerce agencies of government to enter into settlements that are likely to compromise national interest or perverse the course of justice.
The Attorney General of the Federation wishes to assure Nigerians that the Addax suit will not be treated differently, no matter the issues involved and regardless of the interests at play. Nigerians should, therefore, discountenance the publications made with the sole aim of denigrating the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and attracting public odium to the occupant of the Office.
Charles Nwodo,
Director, Information,
Federal Ministry of Justice.
