By Emmanuel Nduka
Prosecutors in Italy on Tuesday dropped criminal proceedings over the controversial OPL 245 Malabu deal, clearing oil giants Shell and Eni.
Reuters reported that Attorney General Celestina Gravina disclosed that the prosecution did not plan to pursue the case at the start of an appeal hearing into the long-running case.
Thus, with the Appeal Court formally taking note of the decision Tuesday, the criminal case will be closed and the acquittal of all defendants will be concluded.
“This case must finish today because it has no basis, in fact it should have finished earlier,” Mr Gravina was quoted to have told the court on Tuesday.
Legal and judicial sources also told Reuters that the decision to withdraw at the start of a trial is “unprecedented” in Milan, even though the General Prosecutor’s Office at the Appeals Court sometimes asks for the acquittal of defendants at the end of an appeal process.
Meanwhile, there is a separate and pending appeal concerning civil proceedings in which Nigeria sued for compensation.
In 2021, the Tribunal Prosecutor’s Office and the Nigerian Government had sought to appeal a ruling which acquitted the two companies and defendants after a three-year trial.
Reuters reports that Lucio Lucia, a lawyer representing the Nigerian Government, argued that the decision not to proceed with the appeal was “unusual”, adding that the lower court had failed to properly assess the documentary proof against the defendants.
Eni in its reaction said it was very satisfied that the case had been concluded, adding that it was “unmotivated and disconcerting.”
The next hearings for the civil case are scheduled for September.
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