Global civic group, Transparency International, and its chapters in the Netherlands and the United States, have called on the authorities of the two countries to reopen investigations into the role of the Italian multinational energy company, Eni and the British multinational oil and gas company, Shell Plc, in the alleged oil bribery case in Nigeria.
Recall that Eni and Shell had been accused of having paid over US$1billion in bribes to some persons under former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration for the rights to the OPL245 offshore oilfield.
The case has been widely recognised as seriously detrimental to the people of Nigeria, and the US and the Netherlands had previously opened investigations into the allegation but closed them due to a court case in Italy.
Meanwhile, in 2021 and 2022, Italian authorities acquitted both Eni and Shell, a ruling which threw the international community into shock.
Transparency International in a statement on Monday described the judgment as “Unfortunately part of a pattern in Italy, with both the OECD Working Group on Bribery and Transparency International’s own Exporting Corruption 2022 report finding the country to be limited in its enforcement against foreign bribery.”
But Transparency International stated that both the US and the Netherlands have an international obligation to punish foreign bribery, and therefore, must reopen the investigations.
“Now, reports that Nigeria’s attorney general advised the country’s outgoing president to drop the long-running dispute with Eni and Shell make the reopening of proceedings in countries that have jurisdiction over the case crucial for accountability.
“Simultaneously, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) – Transparency International’s chapter in Nigeria – urges the Nigerian government to refrain from terminating its own disputes. It is estimated that the Nigerian treasury could lose as much as US$5 billion because of the poorly negotiated fiscal terms under the OPL 245 deal,” part of the statement read.
Transparency International quoted the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Council of Nigeria (CISLAC), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, as saying that “Nigerians need answers. The outgoing government of President Muhammadu Buhari should reject calls to stop litigation over a deal that may have caused the Nigerian public an enormous loss.
“This is important especially as the current government has about a week before giving way to another administration. The incoming government must ensure that we get to the root of the matter.”