…tells AGF to remember Allah’s divine curse against liars
P&ID bribe allegation: Late ex-petroleum minister’s family demands apology from Malami
Family of former petroleum minister, Rilwanu Lukman, has demanded an apology from the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, over his claim that the late minister approved the Process and Industrial Development Limited (P&ID) deal.
In his witness statement filed at a court in the UK, Malami alleged that Lukman, who died in 2014, directed his aide, Taofiq Tijani, to “deliberately overlook” P&ID’s shortcomings and push the deal through.
Malami said Tijani told the EFCC that Lukman instructed him to facilitate the contract with P&ID despite the fact that the company had no record in the oil and gas sector.
The AGF said Lukman broke the law by signing the P&ID agreement because the former minister of state in the petroleum ministry, Odein Ajumogobia, was responsible for gas deals.
The botched gas supply deal resulted in a $9.6 billion arbitral award against Nigeria by a UK court.
Nigeria has been making moves to overturn the judgment and got court clearance to request documents from a P&ID stakeholder and to review bank statements of ex-president Goodluck Jonathan; former minister of petroleum resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke and Lukman.
In a letter to Malami, daughter of the late patriarch, Ramatu Lukman, who wrote on behalf of the family, denied the allegation that her father fraudulently approved the P&ID deal.
“It is despicable that you have engaged your witness statements to call into question our father’s integrity, years after his passing, on what appears to be only an ill-founded and opportunistic suspicion,” she said.
Ramatu said Malami made “false accusations of reprehensible criminal conduct” against her father because he cannot defend himself.
She said, “Please convey a second to think about what you’ve done to the Rilwanu Lukman’s family, you owe us an apology.
“If this is something you think you are not up to, then I am sorry to remind you of the divine curse and the anger of Allah (S.W.T.) against liars mentioned in SURAH AZZUMAR 39:3
“Surely Allah will judge between them in that wherein they differ. But Allah guides not such as are false and ungrateful.”