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Malabu bribe: Italian court postpones trial of Shell, ENI, Dan Etete

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An Italian court in Milan  has postponed till May 14 the start of a trial of the executives of Royal Dutch Shell, ENI and former Nigerian oil minister, Dan Etete,  over alleged bribery in connection with the sale of an oil block owned by Malabu Oil. The case involves the 2011 purchase by Eni and Shell of Nigeria of Nigeria’s OPL-245 offshore oilfield – one of Africa’s most valuable oil blocks – for about $1.3 billion. Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi, his predecessor Paolo Scaroni and several officials from Eni and Shell are among those who will face the judge.

Eni — also charged with corruption in Algeria in a separate trial — and Shell stand accused of handing out bribes during the 2011 purchase of OPL245, an offshore oil block estimated to hold 9 billion barrels of crude, for $1.3 billion.
Both companies deny the charges against them.

“Eni expresses its full confidence in the judicial process and that the trial will ascertain and confirm the correctness and integrity of its conduct,” the Italian firm said in a statement. The agreement allegedly saw Nigeria’s former president Goodluck Jonathan and former oil minister Etete pocket bribes, according to corruption watchdog Global Witness. Eni and Shell closed the deal with the government without the involvement of an intermediary. The money… was deposited into an account owned by the Nigerian government,” said Eni, which has regularly reaffirmed its trust in Descalzi.

Descalzi made it clear last year that Shell and Eni had not been “involved in the government’s decision on how to use the money”. Shell also said it believed the judges would conclude there was no case against them, adding “there is no place for bribery or corruption in our company.”
The 2011 deal with the Nigerian government aimed to end years of litigation over the OPL245 block between Shell and Dan Etete’s Oil and Gas Malabu company. Etete, a former Nigerian oil minister under the former military ruler, General  Sani Abacha, appropriated the block in 1998, selling it to Malabu, a company he secretly owned. The licence was subsequently revoked by the government and then transferred to Shell and then again to Malabu, resulting in major litigation.

After taking office in 2010, President Goodluck Jonathan resumed negotiations on the highly coveted block. According to Global Witness, the deal resulted in $1.1 billion being paid into an account in London opened by government officials — and going directly to Etete — and $210 million to the government. Email exchanges between Shell management cited by Global Witness, and seen by AFP, suggest that Shell was aware the money was likely to be funnelled to individuals, including Etete and Jonathan.
“Etete can smell the money,” a Shell official wrote in 2010, while another said, “the President (Jonathan) is motivated to see 245 closed quickly –- driven by expectations about the proceeds that Malabu will receive and political contributions that will flow as a consequence.”

Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the EFCC, filed corruption charges against Shell and Eni in March 2017, accusing 11 defendants, including Etete, of “official corruption” in connection with the deal. Current president, Muhammadu Buhari, has pledged to fight relentlessly against the “cancer of corruption” that plagues Africa’s largest oil producer. But in a letter leaked in February from Justice Minister, Abubakar Malami, to Buhari dating from September, the minister asked the president to interrupt the EFCC investigation. In the letter Malami expressed concern that the case did not contain enough evidence to bring the main defendants to justice and that a trial would be an embarrassment for the country and could put off potential investors.

Global Witness called for justice, saying that “$1.1 billion can help a lot of people in a country like Nigeria” where “80 percent of citizens live on less than two dollars a day” Milan prosecutors allege bribes were paid to win the license to explore the field, which has never entered into production. All the accused have denied any wrongdoing. A Milan judge ruled in December that the companies, along with present and past executives, would face trial.

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Cardano rises as midnight launch triggers rally

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Cardano (ADAUSD) climbed amidst tight trading activities in the crypto market, up by 1.05% in the past 24 hours, showing resilience near key support.

The price ticked up on Sunday amidst negative movements in the global crypto market. The gain has reduced its negative movement in the week to 1%. Cardano is showing strength with a $70 million ADA treasury push and a bullish December setup, but it faces key resistance amidst competing traders.  

The token is trading at $0.4165 at the time of filing the report on Sunday, gaining more than 1% on the day as volume traded reached $359.252 million. The token is in a notable correction from its November highs. Recent trading activity reflects pronounced investor caution. Over a 30-day period, ADA has declined approximately 15%, mirroring the broader pressure on risk assets from macroeconomic uncertainties.

Sentiment trades mixed, as retail and mid-sized investors are accumulating at lows, but large holders remain sceptical. Cardano’s privacy-centric Midnight Network went live after years of development, introducing NIGHT – the first native asset on Cardano.

According to crypto analysts, Short-term speculation around NIGHT airdrops and interoperability boosted ADA demand. ADA rebounded from $0.371–$0.416 after testing an ascending trend line connecting 2023–2025 lows. Traders interpreted the bounce as a bullish divergence, but ADA remains below critical resistance of $0.5113 and its 200-day EMA of $0.68.

ADA’s minor rally reflects optimism around Midnight’s launch and oversold technicals, but scepticism about its ecosystem impact and whale selling caps upside. While the price surges, analysts stated that Cardano balances technical hope against macroeconomic headwinds, with Midnight’s adoption trajectory and $0.51 resistance serving as critical watch points.

While governance upgrades signal maturing decentralisation, crypto analysts are still querying whether ADA can leverage these developments to reverse its 2025 underperformance.

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NDLEA intercepts 7.6m tramadol pills, 76,273kg Colorado

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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has recovered over 7.6 million pills of tramadol and a total of 76,273.4 kilograms of different strains of cannabis.

The agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja. Mr Babafemi said that the drugs, including Colorado, Loud and Skunks, had several members of drug trafficking organisations linked to the seizures arrested.

He said that out of the total opioids seized during the raids, not less than 3,874,000 pills of tramadol, 225mg and 100mg, and others, as well as 252.2litres of codeine syrup were recovered. He said that they were recovered from a warehouse at Oko market, Asaba, Delta, on Saturday. He also said that no fewer than 1.2 million tablets of tramadol 225mg were seized from a suspect on December 3.

This, he said, was when NDLEA operatives on patrol at Orogwe, along the Onitsha-Owerri road, Imo, intercepted his vehicle conveying the consignment, which was loaded at Aba, Abia, and heading to Onitsha, Anambra. Meanwhile, in Adamawa, NDLEA officers on December 1 intercepted a Toyota Hiace bus marked MGU 554 XB along Maraba-Mubi, coming from Jos, Plateau state, and heading to Mubi, with a total of 1,577,112 capsules of tramadol.

“Other drugs intercepted were Exol-5 tablets, all concealed inside jumbo bags mixed with new rubber sandals and slippers. Two suspects were arrested in connection with the seizure. Similarly, another 27-year-old suspect was nabbed along Zaria-Kano road, Kano state, with 197,000 pills of exol-5,” he said.

The NDLEA chairman, Buba Marwa, commended the officers and men of the SOU commands in Delta, Adamawa, Imo, Ondo, Lagos, and Kano for the arrests and seizures. Mr Marwa said that their operational successes, along with those of their compatriots across the country, especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction, were well appreciated. NAN

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Lagos, Kaduna, Oyo, FCT, Ogun top 2025 subnational ease of doing business report  

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The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has released the 2025 Subnational Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) Report, with Lagos emerging as the best-performing state, scoring  85.6 per cent.

The report released by the director-general of PEBEC, Zahrah Mustapha-Audu, has Kaduna in second position with  65.1 per cent. Oyo, FCT, and Ogun rounded up the top five with scores of 62.7 per cent, 61.0 per cent, and 59.9 per cent, respectively. Others include Enugu (56.2 per cent) in sixth position, with Plateau (56.2 per cent), Ekiti (55.8 per cent), Kano (54.8 per cent), and Nasarawa (53.4 per cent) rounding out the top 10 states.

The EoDB report is a comprehensive data-driven assessment of how Nigeria’s 36 states and the FCT are shaping business competitiveness through regulation, infrastructure, and administrative efficiency.
The report assesses performance across 16 indicators and 36 sub-metrics covering electricity, infrastructure, digital connectivity, land administration, taxation, trade logistics, justice delivery, investor support and skilled labour readiness.

According to the DG, these states distinguished themselves through consistent reform momentum, improved digital processes, and more predictable regulatory environments. “The 2025 Report also highlights five priority interventions states can implement immediately. These include establishing investor aftercare systems, strengthening MSME credit enablement, harmonising interstate trade rules, upgrading commercial justice processes, and improving power reliability for industrial clusters,” she said.

According to her, PEBEC  will continue to support state-led reform adoption, particularly under the $750 million State Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) programme. She added that “the 2025 Subnational EoDB Report provides a critical foundation for policy action, investment decisions, and long-term competitiveness across Nigeria.”
The DG said the  Subnational Ease of Doing Business Report is available for download at www.pebec.gov.ng/reports

PEBEC had earlier released its 2025 Business Facilitation Act (BFA) Performance Report, covering MDAs’ performance from January to October. This performance report is part of the council’s  effort to track and measure the compliance of federal government MDAs with the BFA’s requirements on promoting Transparency and Efficiency of government-delivered services to the  business community.

The report presents a data-driven assessment of 69 priority MDAs, drawing on monthly compliance submissions, independent mystery shopping, website audits, ReportGov analytics, and targeted process-verification exercises.

According to the report, the top five performing MDAs include the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), with an impressive 90.6 per cent score, followed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at 89 per cent. The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), ranks third with 86.6percent, the  Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) secured the fourth and fifth positions, scoring 85.3 per cent and 84.2 per cent, respectively.

PEBEC, currently chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, was established in July 2016 by the federal government to oversee Nigeria’s business environment intervention. It has a dual mandate of removing bureaucratic and legislative constraints to doing business and improving the perception of the ease of doing business in Nigeria. NAN

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