Court Dismisses Libel Suit Against Former AGF Adoke Over OPL 245 Petition

The Federal Capital Territory High Court has dismissed a libel suit filed against former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, by anti-corruption activist Olanrewaju Suraju.

Justice Babangida Hassan, delivering judgment on Wednesday, ruled that Suraju, who is Chairman of the HEDA Resource Centre, failed to prove his allegation of defamation against the former AGF.

The case originated from a February 2021 petition Adoke sent to the Inspector General of Police, alleging that Suraju had forged an email and stage-managed a phone conversation to implicate him in the controversial OPL 245 oil bloc transaction. Following police investigations, Suraju was indicted for circulating false information on social media and was subsequently charged to court for alleged cyber crime.

Before his criminal trial commenced in February 2022, Suraju had instituted a N100 million libel action against Adoke over the publication of the petition to the IGP by media outlets.

However, Justice Hassan ruled that the petition, which formed Suraju's main evidence, did not contain the activist's name and therefore could not have defamed him. The court also found that the Premium Times webpage presented as evidence did not contain an acknowledgement copy of Adoke's petition and could not be cited as proof of publication.

The court maintained that sending a petition to the police cannot in itself constitute defamation, as it is the right of any citizen to do so. It ruled that the absence of critical proofs was fatal to Suraju's claims.

Adoke did not mount a defence during the hearing, arguing that the fundamental case of defamation had not been established and there was nothing for him to defend. The court agreed, finding no evidence to prove that the certified true copy of the petition was read by a third party, which is a key ingredient in defamation cases.

The judge dismissed the suit without awarding costs.

The OPL 245 transaction has been the subject of multiple court cases both in Nigeria and abroad. Nigeria lost all cases regarding the transaction, with courts ruling there was no evidence the country was short-changed. Adoke, though not a party to foreign proceedings, consistently denied corruption allegations, claiming evidence against him was forged.

Adoke also won cases filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Nigeria. Additionally, two Milan prosecutors were jailed by an Italian court for forgery and withholding evidence favourable to the defence during the OPL 245 trial.