By Sabiu Gaya

On Tuesday, April 23, 2024, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the full glare of the media and diverse global audiences passed a verdict of ‘guilty’ on Yahaya Bello, former governor of Kogi State.

It was a crude enactment of the Latin phrase, ‘Nemo judex in causa sua’ which roughly translates as:  No man can judge his own cause; or be a judge in his own cause. At a media briefing in which senior editors were present, Olukoyede waxed emotional as he convicted Bello before the media and before the world. In his now trending video, the EFCC Chair did not allege that Bello embezzled funds from Kogi treasury, he said pointedly that the former governor stole from a state as poor as Kogi.

With a microphone and right before the media, Olukoyede gave a vivid account of how the former governor allegedly withdrew money from the state coffers to pay for his children’s school fees upfront. This is something an EFCC witness should be telling the court, not EFCC Chairman telling the media. He even threatened to resign if Bello was not prosecuted to the end.

He was emotional as he was recklessly showy in his theatrics to tar Bello, still a suspect until pronounced guilty by a court of law, in the darkest colour of ignominy.

There is a huge difference between law and emotions. Cases are determined on documentary evidence, not on the whims of emotions.

Debating the details of a Charge Sheet in the media by the prosecutor is not only sub-judice but also an affront on the defendant’s constitutional right to fair hearing. Why is EFCC engaging in needless drama if it has established a prima facie case against Bello? And why should the Chairman of the commission be the person huffing and puffing with a microphone before the media in a matter that is already active in court?

What the EFCC chair did was both morally and legally wrong. For a case that is already active in court, you don’t go with full throttle in the public space to be adjudicating on the matter and passing off statements that tendentiously suggest that Bello was already guilty before ever enjoying as much as a whiff of fair hearing in the court of law. Olukoyede as EFCC chairman has a dog in this fight with the Kogi ex-governor. He is the investigator and prosecutor, not the judge. EFCC is not the court either. But from what any discerning mind could glean off from the EFCC Chairman’s show on Tuesday, he has become the judge in his own cause, an abuse of a long-established legal dictum.

The EFCC is not a trial institution. The issue of guilty or not guilty is for the court to determine. Bello has approached the court to enforce his fundamental human rights, an inalienable right he is constitutionally entitled to. He got a restraining order barring the EFCC from arresting, harassing and prosecuting him. The EFCC appealed the order but lacked the discipline to wait for the court to vacate the order. Rather, the EFCC stormed Bello’s residence without a warrant of arrest but with full media coverage.

What manner of anti-graft agency is that? Jettisoning procedural route and embracing brigandage as the EFCC has done in the Bello case as in other notable cases makes people infer that no suspect will get fair hearing with the EFCC.

As it now stands, Bello is not assured of fair hearing if the EFCC Chairman could all but pronounce him guilty at a media briefing. This is not a prosecutorial procedure. It is persecution, crass and crude.

In a matter of this nature, once the case is before the court, the EFCC has no business with investigation. In a season when President Bola Tinubu and many senior lawyers are advocating for justice reforms, the EFCC is slipping deeper and deeper into the abyss of impunity and utter disregard for the rule of law. This is unacceptable as it is condemnable. Olukoyede’s actions these past weeks amount to subtle intimidation of the judges ahead of the real legal fireworks. That is not fair hearing. Justice is only said to have been done when there is fair hearing. It is actions of persons like Olukoyede and institutions like the EFCC that has made Nigerians to lose confidence in the judiciary.

An institution of justice, especially an investigating and prosecutorial institution like the EFCC ought to be diligent in its investigation, hence it is termed “discreet investigation.” If the EFCC has done its job of investigation very well and it has as much as established a prima facie case against Bello or any other person, it should head to court and save the nation the resources, time and drama of effecting arrest and taking the defendant into custody.

Ab initio, the EFCC has not been fair to Bello. The revelation by the EFCC Chair that he put a call across to Bello further begs the issue. Why call him or even accord him special privileges? In the eyes of the law, Bello is just another Nigerian citizen shorn of immunity, though a former governor. But even as a suspect, he is entitled to his fundamental human rights.

One of such rights is that he is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction. But EFCC is abridging such right. Its Chairman is now the one pronouncing Bello guilty via the media. It is an insult on the legal profession, lawyers and the court system. It is actions like this that have made Bello’s legal team to wonder if their client will ever get fair hearing and justice when the legal maelstrom begins.

Bello’s legal team has stated that the former governor is not running away from the court of law. They insist Bello believes in the judiciary, hence he approached the Kogi High Court to enforce his fundamental human rights. But they fear that with the body language of Olukoyede and his pronouncements lately, their client will be subjected to the most inhuman treatment not inside the court room but in the custody of an already biased EFCC. Olukoyede should tread lightly for the sake of the image of the commission.

·       Gaya, lecturer and public policy analyst, writes from Kano.

•As NLNG risks sanctions from UK court

Following restriction of Liquefied Natural Gas LNG supply to its customers, Shell PLC has made claims against Venture Global LNG(VGL) a United States based LNG exporter, for its breach of contract to supply LNG cargoes.

Also, Nigeria LNG may risk sanctions from a UK High Court for a similar breach of an LNG supply contract.

Both Venture Global LNG and NLNG have been facing hurdles in the United States and in the United Kingdom for its breach of contract in a relatively similar fashion.

While Shell Plc filed its claim with U.S. regulators, the NLNG breach, has now been advanced to the UK High courts for further litigation.

Nigeria LNG is challenging the enforceability of the arbitral award’s demand order, issued by the arbitration panel.

According to Reuters report, Shell Plc has escalated its dispute with Venture Global LNG.

It accused the liquefied natural gas producer of restricting supply access to it and other customers, while exporting over $18 billion in LNG.

In a letter sent to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Shell requested the commission to compel Venture Global LNG to disclose plant commissioning data to clarify the cause of delayed commercial operations.

Shell and other European companies say they contracted with Venture Global LNG but did not get their gas cargoes under long-term contracts.

They alleged that Venture Global LNG has been selling gas from the plant for more than a year to others, costing them billions in lost profit.

On its part, Nigeria LNG was held to be in breach of contract by failing to deliver 19 cargoes under a contract it executed in January 2020.

The cargoes, which were due for delivery between October 2020 and October 2021, have not been delivered.

In pleadings made by NLNG in its Particulars of Claims to the High Court of Justice in England and Wales Commercial Court, it’s breach was confirmed by a final arbitration award dated 30th January 2023.

The arbitration tribunal comprised Mr John Beechey CBE, Mr J William Rowley KC and Mr Nevil Phillips.

Nigeria LNG Ltd., is significantly owned by Shell, Total, and Eni.

An industry expert cited similarities between the disputes involving Venture Global LNG and Nigeria LNG. The source attributed the challenge to the unexpected surge in the LNG market.

“The reason for this surge in disputes may be related to the unexpected turn in losses to highly profitable margins, as high as $90 million per cargo, at the beginning of the Russian Ukraine conflict, post Covid market recovery and a huge demand in Asia and European markets, it is seen as a golden era for LNG cargoes.

“This situation may have prompted numerous defaults on agreements, with major LNG suppliers opting to retain higher margins at the risk of lengthy litigations,” the source added.“

After releasing the FY 2022 financial statements, Oando Plc has issued a press statement to address its net loss of N81.2 billion incurred in 2022, citing militancy and pipeline vandalism as major culprits.

Despite reporting a gross turnover of N1.99 trillion during the fiscal year, the group posted a loss after tax of N81.2 billion, a significant downturn from the N39.2 billion profit after tax posted in 2021.

Wale Tinubu, Group Chief Executive of Oando Plc, commenting on the result, noted,

“The heightened militancy and pipeline vandalism acts within the Niger Delta region dealt a substantial blow to our upstream operations, resulting in a marked reduction in our crude production volumes due to the protracted shut-ins for repair following each incidence. This was further compounded by a major gas plant fire incident which also necessitated a lengthy downtime.”

“Furthermore, a rise in our net interest expense due to increased interest rates on several of our major facilities in line with global rates increases, also contributed to our Loss after Tax position.”

“In response, we have put in place definitive measures to bolster our production and cash inflows towards ensuring a speedy return to profitability by collaborating with our partners to institute a comprehensive security framework aimed at permanently curbing the persistent pipeline vandalism whilst concurrently exploring inorganic growth opportunities to increase our reserves and production capabilities. We have also implemented a strategic restructuring of our key facilities to ensure they align with our cash flow dynamics.”

Recommended reading: Pipeline vandalism cost Nigeria N471 billion in 5 Years

Economic implication of oil theft in Nigeria

Theft and vandalism of oil installations is a major problem plaguing the oil and gas sector in Nigeria. The crime of oil theft has had a negative impact on the national economy and the business of local and international oil companies operating in the upstream sector.

Although there is no precise figure to quantify the financial impact of oil theft on the Nigerian economy, a study conducted by Dimkpa et al. (2023) estimates that Nigeria lost approximately $33.6 billion in oil revenue to oil theft between 2019 and 2022.

 A significant economic implication for Nigeria has been the consistent decline in oil production. Nigeria’s average oil production in 2022 was at 1.45 million barrels per day, an almost 1-million-barrel decline from the 2.4 million barrels per day produced by Nigeria in 2012.

In 2022, Oando’s total upstream production amounted to 20,703 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/day). This comprised 4,939 barrels per day of crude oil, 472 barrels per day of natural gas liquids, and 15,292 barrels per day of natural gas.

This figure represents a 22.7% decline from the 26,775 boe/d output reported by the group in 2021.

According to the company’s press statement, the decline in production was attributed to downtimes caused by shut-ins for repairs and sabotage activities.

In 2022, Oando Plc sold approximately 21.8 million barrels of crude oil, representing a 25% increase from the 17.4 million barrels sold in 2021. The group also sold about 1.94 million metric tonnes of refined petroleum, representing a 101% increase from the 962,371 metric tonnes sold in 2021.

Despite recording a decline in oil output, the group was able to sell an increased amount of crude oil due to its contracts with the then Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), ultimately contributing to its 148% revenue growth in 2022.

In 2022, Oando sold crude oil at an average realized oil price of $101.55/barrel and a gas price of $14.74/Boe, compared to 2021’s prices of $62.14/barrel for crude oil and $9.95/Boe for gas.

OMLs 60 to 63 gulped about $77.7 million in capital expenditure (CAPEX) from Oando, while OML 56 and OML 13 gulped about $22.6 million and $200,000 respectively. The group also spent $1.4 million in capital expenditure (CAPEX) on other assets.

As of 2022, Oando owned 20% stake in OMLs 60 to 63, as Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) also owned a 20% stake.

However, Oando is in the process of purchasing NAOC’s 20% stake in the oil fields, which will push its stake up to 40%.