Mohammed Abacha, son of the late military ruler, General Sani Abacha, has initiated a move to challenge the decision of the Court of Appeal which dismissed his bid to reclaim ownership of the controversial Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 245.
PLATFORM TIMES gathered that Abacha’s legal team, led by senior lawyer Reuben Atabo, has filed a motion on notice seeking leave to appeal the May 23, 2025 judgment at the Supreme Court.
The disputed oil block, OPL 245, was originally awarded in 1998 to Malabu Oil and Gas Limited—a company Abacha claims ownership of. The case has remained one of Nigeria’s most contentious oil asset disputes, drawing attention locally and internationally.
The legal tussle took a new turn on May 23 when a three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Hamma Akawu Barka, ruled in favour of Agip.
The appellate court set aside an earlier ruling by Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, which had dismissed Agip’s preliminary objection against Malabu’s suit.
Agip, represented by Babatunde Fagbohunlu, SAN, had argued that the case was statute-barred and had raised objections bordering on fair hearing and abuse of court process.
The appeal court agreed that the trial court failed to address these substantive issues and ruled that Malabu’s suit was filed outside the statutory three-month period required for such matters.
In the fresh motion filed on June 4, Malabu Oil is asking the appellate court to allow it approach the Supreme Court to contest the appellate judgment on grounds of mixed law and facts.
The company is also seeking permission to raise new legal issues, particularly as highlighted in several grounds of its proposed notice of appeal.
Edwin John, who deposed to the supporting affidavit, insisted that the appeal raises “serious questions of law” warranting the intervention of the Supreme Court.
He argued that the respondents would not suffer any prejudice if the motion was granted, and that denying the appeal would shut the door permanently on Malabu’s right to challenge the judgment.
OPL 245 has long been at the centre of corruption allegations and international litigations. In 2011, Shell and Eni reportedly paid $1.1 billion to acquire the oil block following a tripartite resolution involving the Nigerian government and Malabu Oil. A $210 million signature bonus was also paid to the federal government.
However, the deal triggered global outrage, with anti-corruption activists alleging it was fraught with bribery and shady dealings. The Nigerian government, under President Muhammadu Buhari, subsequently dragged Shell and Eni to court.
The legal outcomes have largely favoured the oil multinationals. In 2021, an Italian court acquitted all the defendants.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also dropped its investigation in 2020, and Nigeria lost its $1.7 billion claim against JP Morgan Chase in 2022. By November 2023, the federal government had dropped its $1.1 billion civil suit in Italian courts.
In March 2024, former Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke, who facilitated the 2011 agreement, was discharged by a high court in Abuja. Adoke accused the Abacha family of influencing the Buhari administration to persecute him over claims they were short-changed in the deal.
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