How anti-corruption activists turned OPL 245 affair to money-making venture – Adoke

Adoke

Mohammed Bello Adoke, former attorney-general of the federation (AGF), has accused some anti-corruption activists of turning the OPL 245 litigation into a money-making venture.

He also took a general swipe at what he called the “anti-corruption mobsters” in Nigeria and hinted at taking a legal action against them, although he did not mention any names.

“The perverse incentive that makes ill-informed campaigners injure people’s reputations will have to come under legal scrutiny at some point. Nobody should be able to get away with defamation under any guise,” he wrote in his new book, ‘OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3bn Nigerian Oil Block’, published by The Conrad Press Ltd in the UK.

The book, which was presented at a special event in Abuja on July 10, is scheduled to go on sale nationwide from Thursday, July 24.

“There is a thriving anti-corruption mob in Nigeria. There is no questioning the fact that we have multiple challenges in the war against corruption, but I still have to confess my amazement at how rotten the anti-corruption sector is, whether private or public,” he wrote.

“Many individuals posing as anti-corruption activists stink. They are nothing but blackmailers and dyed-in-the-wool character assassins. I have evidence that when Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina, former Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), ran into a storm in 2012 over allegations of fraud, it was one of the famous ‘anti-corruption’ activists that helped him organize groups to protest in his favor at the National Assembly — for a fee. This particular ‘activist’ owns a number of hotels in Lagos State derived from the proceeds of his anti-corruption business.”

‘A BLIND ALLEY’

The former minister of justice took exception to the role played by Global Witness, a UK-based NGO that co-ordinated the global campaign against the OPL 245 transaction.