Explosive Showdown: AGF vs Ex-NBA President In Bid To Halt $8.4M Oil Theft Prosecution

Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President, Joseph Daudu (SAN), has urged the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja to dismiss an attempt by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), to discontinue a high-profile oil theft case involving multinational oil firms, Trafigura Beheer BV and Trafigura PTE Limited.

Appearing before Justice Mojisola Dada on Thursday, Daudu—representing Nadabo Energy Limited, the nominal complainant—argued that the case was filed under the Criminal Code Law of Lagos State (Cap. C17, 2003) and not under federal criminal laws.

Daudu maintained that the AGF’s notice of discontinuance was unconstitutional and contravened Section 211(1) of the 1999 Constitution. He stressed that because the case was initiated under Lagos State law, only the Attorney General of Lagos State has the legal authority to withdraw it—not the Federal Government.

The AGF, through the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), had filed the notice of discontinuance after receiving a petition from Trafigura’s legal team requesting federal intervention. Daudu, however, described the action as “ultra vires, null, void, and constitutionally defective.”

He added, “This notice is fundamentally flawed, riddled with incompetence, and must be set aside.”

The case—ID/7980c/2018—involves allegations by the Special Fraud Unit (SFU) that Trafigura and five other defendants conspired to steal Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) valued at over $8.4 million from Nadabo Energy.

Other defendants include Yusuf Kwande, Mettle Energy and Gas, Rembrandt Ltd, Osahon Asemota, and Jil Engineering and Oil Services Ltd. All the accused previously pleaded not guilty.

The trial had progressed substantially, with 17 prosecution witnesses presented. Justice Dada had dismissed a no-case submission by the defence and ordered them to open their case.

Instead of proceeding with their defence, Trafigura’s legal team petitioned the AGF to step in and terminate the matter, prompting the controversial discontinuance notice.

Following this, the judge discharged the defendants based on the prosecution’s application.

Bode Olanipekun (SAN), counsel for Trafigura, had argued the charges were duplicative of a previous case before Justice Sedotan Ogunsanya, and sought dismissal on grounds of double jeopardy. However, Justice Dada rejected the application, affirming that the two cases were unrelated.

Despite multiple court orders for the trial to continue, and after three defence witnesses were called, Trafigura’s legal team appealed to the AGF to halt proceedings—a move Daudu firmly opposed.