{
  "id": 14830092,
  "title": "Court acquits Aliyu Abubakar, Malabu Oil in $1bn fraud case",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/court-acquits-aliyu-abubakar-malabu-oil-in-1bn-fraud-case-14830092",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-16T00:56:55.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Punch Nigeria",
    "slug": "punch-nigeria",
    "url": "https://punchng.com/court-acquits-aliyu-abubakar-malabu-oil-in-1bn-fraud-case-2/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Federal High Court in Abuja acquitted Aliyu Abubakar, the Chairman of AA Oil Limited, and six other defendants, including Malabu Oil and Gas Limited, of alleged $1bn money laundering offences linked to Oil Prospecting Licence 245, on Thursday. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) failed to prove the allegations beyond reasonable doubt, according to Justice Inyang Ekwo's judgment. The defendants were prosecuted in a 43-count charge, filed in December 2016, over alleged fraudulent dealings involving OPL 245. The judge also criticized the prosecution for moving forward with the case despite a 2018 letter from the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, advising against prosecution due to insufficient evidence. The investigation preceding the charge was not completed before the defendants were prosecuted, according to Justice Ekwo.",
  "summary": "A Federal High Court in Abuja has acquitted Aliyu Abubakar, Malabu Oil and Gas, and others of $1bn money laundering charges linked to the OPL 245 deal. Read More: https://punchng.com/court-acquits-aliyu-abubakar-malabu-oil-in-1bn-fraud-case-2/",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Punch Nigeria",
        "title": "Court acquits Aliyu Abubakar, Malabu Oil in $1bn fraud case",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/court-acquits-aliyu-abubakar-malabu-oil-in-1bn-fraud-case",
        "published": "2026-10-15T19:14:54.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Ripples Nigeria",
        "title": "Court clears Aliyu Abubakar, Malabu Oil of $1bn money laundering charges",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/court-clears-aliyu-abubakar-malabu-oil-of-1bn-money-laundering-charges",
        "published": "2026-10-15T21:30:18.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}