Nigeria loses $1.092bn claim as Italian court acquits Eni, Shell – Newstrends
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Nigeria loses $1.092bn claim as Italian court acquits Eni, Shell

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Nigeria’s request for a court order compelling Eni and Royal Dutch Shell to pay $1.092bn as an immediate advance payment for damages in one of the oil industry’s biggest-ever corruption trials has failed.

This followed the acquittal on Wednesday by an Italian court of Shell, Eni and their managers in the controversial Malabu scandal.

The Malabu scandal involved the transfer of about $1.1 billion by Shell and Eni through the Nigerian government to accounts controlled by a former Nigerian petroleum minister, Dan Etete.

The sentence, read out in court by Judge Marco Tremolada, came more than three years after the trial first began and after a total of 74 hearings.

At a hearing into alleged corruption linked to Eni and Shell’s 2011 acquisition of the OPL 245 field, Lucio Lucia, lawyer for the Nigerian government, called for a guilty verdict and an advance payment, ahead of any broader damages package set by a court at a later date.

Lucia did not specify how much Nigeria was seeking in damages overall, but said the disputed deal had deprived Nigeria of “profit oil”, adding that “these are massive amounts”.

The lawyer said, calculated under two different scenarios, the profits that had been lost amounted to $4.5bn and $5.9bn respectively.

From accounts controlled by Mr Etete, about half the money ($520 million) went to accounts of companies controlled by Aliyu Abubakar, popularly known in Nigeria as the owner of AA oil.

Anti-corruption investigators and activists suspect he fronted for top officials of the Goodluck Jonathan administration as well of officials of Shell and ENI.

The transaction was authorised in 2011 by Mr Jonathan through some of his cabinet ministers and the money was payment for OPL 245, one of Nigeria’s richest oil blocks.

Although Shell and ENI initially claimed they did not know the money would end up with Mr Etete and his cronies, evidence later showed that the claim was false.

Shell, Eni, Mr Etete, Mr Aliyu and several officials of the oil firms are being prosecuted in Italy for their roles in the scandal.

Italian prosecutors had alleged corruption in the deal while campaigners said the Nigerian government was short-changed.

After years of trial, the court in Milan has now determined that Shell and Eni are not guilty of the charges.

On April 9, 1998, the Federal Military Government awarded OPL 245 to Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd, which was said to be owned mainly by Mohammed Abacha, son of the Sani Abacha, and Etete, who was the petroleum minister at the time.

On July 2, 2001, President Olusegun Obasanjo revoked Malabu’s licence and assigned the oil block to Shell — without a public bid.

Malabu went to court, but ownership was reverted to it in 2006 after it reached an out-of-court settlement with the federal government. Shell fought back and commenced arbitration against Nigeria, but when President Goodluck Jonathan came to power in 2010, the controversy appeared to have been resolved with Shell and Eni agreeing to buy the oil block from Malabu for $1.1 billion.

The oil companies also paid $210 million as signature bonus to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

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CBN sells dollar to BDCs at N1,021/$1

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CBN sells dollar to BDCs at N1,021/$1

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced a $10,000 sale to each licensed Bureau De Change (BDC) operator nationwide.

The apex bank has made its second intervention this month.

The CBN detailed the action in a circular issued to the President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators (ABCON).

BDCs can purchase dollars at a rate of N1,021 per dollar.

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They are, therefore, authorized to sell this forex to eligible end users at a maximum spread of 1.5 percent above the purchase price, translating to a maximum selling price of N1,036.15 per dollar.

On the 8th of April 2024, the CBN sold $10,000 FX to each of the 1,588 participating BDCs at a fixed rate of N1101 per US dollar at a spread capped at 1.5 percent above the purchase price from the CBN (approximately N1,116.15 per dollar). This limited the potential profit BDCs could make on each transaction

The latest circular has instructed all eligible BDCs to commence immediate payment of the Naira equivalent for their allocated $10,000 into designated CBN Naira Deposit Accounts.

CBN sells dollar to BDCs at N1,021/$1

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Dangote refinery further drops diesel price to N940/litre 

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Dangote refinery further drops diesel price to N940/litre 

Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced a further reduction in the price of both diesel to N940 per litre.

This is coming a few days after the refinery reduced diesel price to N1,000 per litre.

It also gave a new price for aviation fuel, pegging it at N980 per litre.

It disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, saying the diesel price change of N940 is applicable to customers buying five million litres or more from the refinery, while those purchasing one million litres or more will pay N970.

It said this marked the third major reduction in diesel price “in less than three weeks when the product sold at N1,700 to N1,200 and also a further reduction to N1,000 and now N940 for diesel and N980 for aviation fuel per litre”.

Speaking on the new development, Anthony Chiejina, head of communication, Dangote Group, said the new price was in tandem with the company’s commitment to alleviating the effect of economic hardship in Nigeria.

“I can confirm to you that Dangote Petroleum Refinery has entered a strategic partnership with MRS Oil and Gas stations, to ensure that consumers get to buy fuel at affordable price, in all their stations, be it Lagos or Maiduguri,” he said.

“You can buy as low as one litre of diesel at N1,050 and aviation fuel at N980 at all major airports where MRS operates.”

He said the partnership would be extended to other major oil marketers.

“The essence of this is to ensure that retail buyers do not buy at exorbitant prices,” he said.

“The Dangote Group is committed to ensuring that Nigerians have a better welfare and as such, we are happy to announce this new prices and hope that it would go a long way to cushion the effect of economic challenges in the country.”

Director-General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Ajayi Kadiri, said the decision “to first crash the price from about N1,750/litre to N1,200/litre, N1,000/litre and now N940 is an eloquent demonstration of the capacity of local industries to positively impact the fortunes of the national economy.

“The trickle-down effect of this singular intervention promises to change the dynamics in the energy cost equation of the country, in the midst of inadequate and rising cost of electricity.”

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Dana Air grounds plane after runway incident, 83 passengers on board

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Dana Air grounds plane after runway incident, 83 passengers on board

Dana Air says it has grounded its airplane that skidded off the Lagos airport runway on Tuesday.
The affected aircraft, a McDonald Douglas (MD-83) with registration 5N-BKI, had 83 passengers on board, it added.
Spokesman for the airline, Mr Kingsley Ezenwa, however, said all the 83 passengers and crew onboard the flight disembarked safely without injuries.
He said in a statement that the airline decided to ground the plane to allow for proper investigation into what caused the accident.
The statement read in part, “Dana Air regrets to inform the public of a runway incursion involving one of our aircraft, registration number 5N BKI, which was flying from Abuja to Lagos today, 23/04/24.
“We are relieved to confirm that all 83 passengers and crew onboard the flight disembarked safely without injuries or scare as the crew handled the situation with utmost professionalism.
“We have also updated the Accident Investigation Bureau, AIB, and Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on the incident, and the aircraft involved has been grounded by our maintenance team for further investigation.
“We wish to thank the airport authorities, our crew for their very swift response in ensuring the safe disembarkation of all passengers following the incident, and our sincere apologies and appreciation to the passengers on the affected flight for their patience and understanding.”

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