Prosecutors in $1.1bn Malabu oil scandal insist Nigerian policeman Eke must testify in Italy

The Palace of Justice in Milan, which is presiding over the $1.1 billion Malabu oil scandal has insisted that a witness it described as super-police officer, Isaac Eke must show up in Italy to testify in the matter on January 29.

It has therefore asked the prosecutors to ensure Eke was made available by January 29, 2020, to testify in the trial.

This was contained in report by an Italian online newspaper, Valori.it and entitled “OPL 245 process, the photo finish race for the super witness.”

In the report published by the online portal on Friday, a prosecution witness, who is also a defendant as well as a former Eni manager, Vincenzo Armanna said, “Eke who in 2011 coordinated all the police forces in the Nigerian capital, told him that he had seen the transit of cash for the bribe to OPL 245 in the presidential villa.

“In particular he would tell him about the two suitcases with 50 million dollars that would have been “diverted” to the villa of the manager Eni Roberto Casula , then number three of the company.”

However, surprisingly, Eke has never appeared to testify.

Eke, the paper reported, instead communicated in an e-mail sent to the defense attorney of Vincenzo Armanna – former manager Eni, “also with possible ties to the services (our own), and great accuser of the Six-legged Dog.”

It added that “the first citation had materialized only with an e-mail in response to Eke’s offer, complete with curriculum vitae and identification data, to appear in Milan to testify. But Tremolada insisted on the fact that this time the video-conference will not be admitted, unlike what happened to other texts heard by Nigeria during the trial. An additional difficulty for the prosecutor, who will have time until January 29th to bring the super witness to Milan.”

At the Friday sitting, when the prosecution wanted to present new recorded testimony Eke sent, the court turned it down and insisted that he must appear in person to testify on January 29, 2020.

Malabu oil scandal is the alleged transfer of about $1.1 billion by oil giants Shell and Eni through the Federal Government to accounts controlled by a former Minister of Petroleum, Mr Dan Etete.