A former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Bello Adoke and an oil magnate, Alhaji Aliyu Abubakar, were on Thursday re-arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over their alleged complicity in the multi-billion dollar Malabu Oil scandal.
They are on trial over a 42 -count criminal charges alongside others, before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on the Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 245, otherwise known as Malabu Oil.
Others docked along with them include Rasky Gbinigie; Malabu Oil and Gas Limited; Nigeria Agip Exploration Limited; Shell Nigeria Extra Deep Limited and Shell Nigeria Exploration Production Company Limited.
Adoke and the other defendants were first arraigned in the case marked FCT/CR/151/2020 before Justice Idris Kutigi, sitting at Gwagwalada, Abuja, by the anti-corruption commission on January 23, 2020.
However, at the resumed trial of the case on Thursday, the prosecuting counsel, Mr Bala Sanga, told the court that the EFCC had filed an amended charge dated January 18, 2021, against the defendants and urged the court to allow the charges be read to them to take a fresh plea.
Thereafter, the charges were read to the defendants who pleaded not guilty.
Following their not guilty plea, Sanga asked for a date for the commencement of trial.
Based on the agreement of parties, Justice Kutigi adjourned the case till April 14-15 for hearing.
The judge ordered Adoke, Aliyu and Gbinigie to remain on bail earlier granted them by the court.
