Mohammed Bello Adoke

Mohammed Bello Adoke (born 1 September 1963) is a Nigerian legal practitioner, arbitrator, and former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice of Nigeria.

Early life and education Adoke was born in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria, and hails from Adavi Local Government Area in Kogi State. He attended Township School, Moscow Road, Port Harcourt, and later completed his secondary education at Government Secondary School, Omu-Aran, Kwara State, where he obtained the West African School Certificate.

Career

Legal practice Adoke began his legal career as a Pupil State Counsel at the Kano State Ministry of Justice (1986–1987) and subsequently worked at law firms including Zakari Yaro & Co., and I.M. Boyi & Co., in Kano. In 1991, he established M.A. Bello & Co., a law firm specializing in corporate insolvency, arbitration, alternative dispute resolution, taxation, and investment law.

He also served in various corporate legal advisory capacities, including as legal adviser to Voix System, London (2003–2010), Afri-Projects Consortium Limited (1997–1999), and Kabo Holdings Limited (1995–1999). During his tenure, he played significant roles in domestic and international legal affairs and represented Nigeria at various high-profile events, including sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Assembly of State Parties to the Rome Statute, and the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission on the Bakassi Peninsula dispute.

He served as a member of Nigeria's Federal Executive Council, the National Security Council, the National Defence Council, the National Council of State, and the Federal Judicial Service Commission between 2010 and 2015. He was also a member of the International Law Commission (ILC) of the United Nations from 2011 to 2017 and was elected President of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO) between 2012 and 2013.

Adoke chaired several strategic committees, including the Committee on Prerogative of Mercy and the White Paper Drafting Committee on the Restructuring and Rationalization of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions, and Agencies.

Professional associations Adoke has been actively involved in the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), serving as Chairman of the NBA Kano Branch, Chairman of the NBA National Bar Centre Committee, and Chairman of the Judges' Forum of the NBA Section on Legal Practice. A threeman team madeup of Federal government officials which including Adoke was set up to monitor and recover the funds. In March 2016 it was reported that Adoke's home in Netherlands was searched as well as the Royal Dutch Shell headquarters due an investigation into the missing funds and receiving bribe from the Malabu Oil deal.

On 21 December 2016, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission officially filed charges against Adoke on a nine count charge that as at when he was the attorney general of Nigeria he approved a transfer transaction of $1.1 billion to Nigerian bank accounts managed by Dan Etete former minister of petroleum. The $1.1billion was paid by Royal Dutch Shell and Eni to the Federal government account for OPL 245 oil bloc.

On 17 April 2019, a Nigerian High Court in Abuja issued an arrest warrant for Adoke and four others for failing to appear at trial in connection with Malabu Oil deal.

Malabu Oil deal acquittal On 28 March 2024, Justice Abubakar Kutigi of the Federal Capital Territory High Court dismissed all charges of fraud, bribery, and conspiracy against Adoke, ruling that the EFCC failed to establish a prima facie case. The court noted that the EFCC did not provide sufficient evidence to prove the allegations, including the claim that Adoke received a ₦300 million bribe from Aliyu Abubakar, a property developer. The judge also highlighted that the EFCC's assertion of illegal tax waivers granted to Shell and Eni was not corroborated by the Federal Inland Revenue Service or any other authority.

Further, on 19 April 2024, Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja upheld Adoke's "no case" submission in a separate money laundering case, discharging and acquitting him of all charges. The EFCC had alleged that Adoke laundered ₦300 million, but the court found that the EFCC failed to provide any evidence to substantiate the claim.

Earlier, the US Department of Justice also closed the case based on the facts available to it. The US Securities and Exchange Commission also did the same. Italian and English courts have also ruled that there was no case of corruption, acquitting, Shell, Eni, and JP Morgan.

Adoke welcomed the judgments, stating that he had been unjustly defamed and that the acquittals vindicated his position that he acted lawfully and in the national interest during his tenure as attorney-general.

Honours and awards Adoke has received numerous honours, including:

Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb) Appointment as a notary public by the chief justice of Nigeria

Works Burden of Service: Reminiscences of Nigeria's Former attorney general (2019)

Personal life He is married to Sa’adatu Mohammed Bello, a lawyer and former attorney-general of Taraba State, and they have six children.