- Unveils Book Exposing Intrigue, Vendetta Behind $1.3bn OPL 245 Deal
By Kaitlyn Omabe
Former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN, is set to release a gripping account of one of Nigeria’s most controversial oil deals, OPL 245, in a new book that promises to shake up the public narrative and confront powerful interests, including former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Titled “OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block,” the much-anticipated book will be publicly presented today at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja. The event is expected to be chaired by former President Goodluck Jonathan, under whose administration the contentious oil block settlement was executed.
Vice President Kashim Shettima is expected as Special Guest of Honour, while Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde will serve as Chief Book Presenter. The book will be reviewed by renowned journalist, Dr. Reuben Abati.
Adoke’s book offers an unvarnished narrative of the high-stakes negotiations that led to the 2011 Resolution Agreements between the Nigerian government, Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd, Shell Plc, and Eni S.p.A. of Italy. The OPL 245 deal has faced intense scrutiny and investigation in Nigeria, the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy, and the Netherlands.
Despite the international attention and protracted legal battles, all allegations of fraud and corruption surrounding the deal have crumbled under judicial review. Courts in Italy and the UK have cleared all parties of wrongdoing. Yet Adoke, who helped broker the deal as AGF, spent years under relentless pressure and prosecution from the Buhari administration.
In the book, Adoke reveals how his refusal to bend to the demands of powerful interests—including associates of the late dictator General Sani Abacha, long linked to former President Buhari—led to a targeted campaign of harassment and criminalisation.
At the heart of the controversy, Adoke alleges, was a behind-the-scenes effort by individuals connected to the Abacha family to extract a cut from the $1.1 billion transaction. When Adoke resisted, the fallout became a global saga, with Nigerian officials collaborating with foreign legal agents to paint the deal as a corporate scandal. Lawyers expecting up to $300 million in commissions were instrumental in fuelling the campaign, he claims.
According to Adoke, this book is not just a personal vindication—it is an exposé of what he describes as “the dirty underbelly of Nigeria’s politics,” filled with vendetta, ambition, and raw power play. From backdoor lobbying to media trials and courtroom dramas across continents, the story reads like a political thriller.
“This is not merely a story about oil; it is about how power is wielded and weaponised in Nigeria,” a source close to the author stated. “Adoke’s book offers a rare glimpse into the murky intersection of politics, law, and international business.”
He noted that the book provides fresh insight into how one of Nigeria’s most valuable oil assets, OPL 245, became the centre of a global controversy, and how the state turned against its own negotiator in a bid to satisfy political vendetta.
Educated at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Robert Kennedy University, Switzerland; the University of Nottingham, UK; and the University of Leiden, the Netherlands, Adoke is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) and served on the International Law Commission between 2011 and 2017.
With OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block, Adoke said he aims to set the record straight and reignite a national conversation on justice, accountability, and the political cost of doing the right thing.