Kanu Agabi: In Nigeria, “The Guilty Walk Free While the Innocent Perish”

Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Kanu Agabi, SAN, has lamented the systemic failure of Nigeria’s legal system, where, in his words, “the guilty go scot-free while the innocent are dragged through endless legal torment.”....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Speaking in Abuja on Thursday during the public presentation of the book ‘OPL 245: Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Nigerian Oil Block’, authored by fellow former AGF Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN, Agabi described the charges once levelled against Adoke as one of Nigeria’s gravest miscarriages of justice. According to NIVONEWS, Agabi’s keynote address was delivered by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Paul Erokoro, who echoed the former AGF’s deep concern about the erosion of fairness in the nation’s justice system.

Drawing a parallel with the infamous UK Post Office scandal, Agabi remarked: “What happened to Adoke ranks among the worst miscarriages of justice in our history.” He argued that despite international validation of Adoke’s role in the OPL 245 deal, successive Nigerian administrations chose to malign his integrity instead of presenting compelling evidence in court. According to NIVONEWS, Agabi noted the irony of government officials prosecuting perceived innocents while known criminals roam free, unprosecuted and untouchable.

He recalled the case of Bode George, whose conviction was eventually overturned by the Supreme Court, which held that he should never have been tried in the first place. “It’s tragic,” Agabi said. “Criminals evade justice, but the innocent are subjected to public trial and humiliation.”

Tracing the controversial OPL 245 transaction to the Abacha era, Agabi explained that the oil block—estimated to contain over nine billion barrels of crude—was later acquired by Shell and Eni during President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration after legal disputes were resolved. He commended Adoke’s role, saying the English courts acknowledged his efforts to shield Nigeria from financial ruin and global embarrassment.

According to NIVONEWS, other dignitaries at the event also emphasized the significance of the book and the controversies it unravels. Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde described it as a “brave, necessary chronicle” that documents not only a transaction but the wider governance issues in Nigeria’s resource sector. “It’s not just about oil,” he said. “It’s about how we govern public assets.”

Former Senate President Bukola Saraki added that Adoke’s ordeal was a powerful lesson on the importance of protecting the rule of law, stressing that “he is not alone in suffering from abuse of legal processes.”

Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, said the book set the record straight on the truth behind the Malabu deal. He praised Adoke for having the courage to document what many feared to say aloud.

The 26-chapter memoir captures the trajectory of the 2011 deepwater oil license deal, in which Shell and Eni paid $1.3 billion to acquire OPL 245—a block that became a subject of international litigation and domestic political controversy.

It will be recalled that in 2020, the Federal Government filed a 40-count charge against Adoke and others over the transaction. However, after four years of trial, Justice Abubakar Kutigi of the FCT High Court discharged the defendants after upholding their no-case submission.

”NIVONEWS REPORTS”