Jonathan alleges: Buhari govt went after my allies post-2015 election

Former President Goodluck Jonathan, on Thursday, said shortly after his tenure ended in 2015, the succeeding administration — led by President Muhammadu Buhari — targeted several key officers in his government.

Jonathan remarked in Abuja, during the public presentation of a memoir titled “OPL 245: Inside Story of the $1.3bn Nigerian Oil Block,” authored by former Attorney-General of the Federation, Bello Adoke.

He was represented at the event by a former Senate President, Pius Anyim.

The OPL-245 case, also known as the Malabu Oil deal scandal, centres on the acquisition of Oil Prospecting Licence 245 — an oil block in Nigeria — by Shell and Eni in 2011 for $1.3bn.

The controversy stems from allegations that a significant portion of the payment, specifically $1.1bn, was channelled through intermediaries as bribes to Nigerian officials and politicians.

OPL 245 was initially awarded to Malabu Oil and Gas in 1998 by the Gen Sani Abacha administration.

However, the block became the subject of global corruption investigations, criminal prosecutions, and civil lawsuits after Malabu sold its entire stake to Shell and Eni in 2011.