The Nigerian government has rejected assertions by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that a long-standing dispute over the valuable OML 245 oil block remains unresolved, stating the matter is legally settled.
In a statement, Attorney-General of the Federation Lateef Fagbemi described Atiku’s position as driven by undisclosed, self-serving interests rather than national concern. The clarification follows Atiku’s recent claim that the administration of President Bola Tinubu had excluded Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd., a key stakeholder, from a resolution.
The AGF stated that the 2025 Court of Appeal ruling in Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited v. Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd. definitively dismissed Malabu’s challenge to the federal government’s allocation of the oil block as statute-barred. He emphasized that a prior 2020 arbitration by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) focused solely on whether Nigeria breached treaty obligations to foreign investors by delaying the conversion of the block’s license, not on internal ownership disputes within Malabu.
“None of the stakeholders now referenced participated in those proceedings,” Fagbemi noted, adding that the arbitration was narrowly scoped. He asserted that continued criticism of the resolved issue “strongly suggests” motivations other than patriotism or reasoned debate.
The dispute centers on OML 245, a prolific offshore field. The government’s position underscores a final legal determination, while Atiku’s intervention keeps political attention on the commercial and governance implications of the block’s history. The exchange highlights persistent tensions over resource jurisdiction and the legacy of past licensing decisions, with the federal government affirming that all legal avenues have been exhausted in its favor.
