Missing 48 million barrels of crude oil- Malami dismisses allegations

Missing 48 million barrels of crude oil- Malami dismisses allegations

Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), yesterday dismissed allegations of missing 48 million barrels of crude oil valued at about $2.4 million.

Speaking when he appeared before the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee investigating the alleged missing crude, he said probes ordered by his office established a case of fraud against those who raised the allegation.

He said they wanted to be paid by the government for recoveries not made.

The minister said those involved were arrested and arraigned before the FCT High Court in Jabi in 2019.

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According to him, while some of those involved jumped bail and are currently on the run, one of them was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an allegation of another case of fraud and is being detained.

Malam refused to make the case file available to the committee, saying it would be sub-judice.

“The Committee or the National Assembly can apply to be joined as an interested party in the case. We will not object to that,” he said.

Dismissing the allegation of missing crude, Malami said: “The allegations relating to the 48 million barrels of crude oil are baseless. The allegation is unfounded. It lacks merit and indeed substance.

“The allegation in its own right is devoid of any reasonable ground pointing to a material suspicion cogent enough to invoke the constitutional oversight of the committee.”

Missing 48 million barrels of crude oil- Malami dismisses allegations

The Nation