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1/ I'm back in frosty Milan and the Palace of Justice for the Shell/ Eni trial. We're expecting some fireworks today with witnesses possibly including @officialEFCC investigators and an eyewitness Nigerian intelligence agent. I'll be live-tweeting to this thread. 
2/ The first witness is Victor Nwafor, retired Assistant Director for the State Security Services. Worked at the Presidential Villa as a bodyguard from March 2010. Says he never met Eni executives or Dan Etete.
3/ No cross examination on Nwafor, his examination was very brief. The next witness is here in person, Ibrahim Ahmed a Police Superintendent attached to Nigeria's @officialEFCC
4/ The EFCC began investigating the case in February 2012 after a complaint was filed on behalf of Mohamed Sani Abacha, the son of Former Nigerian military ruler General Abacha and Pecos Energy.
5/ The EFCC officer explains that Pecos was connected to two men, Volpi and Fasawe, and they are connected to a company called Intels. The current presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar is said to be behind Intels.
6/ Abacha claimed he was an original 50% owner of Malabu. "Kweku Amafegha" had 30%, the name was connected to Dan Etete in his French conviction for money laundering. "Hassan Hindu" owned 20% and was connected to the former ambassador to America.
7/ The directors and shareholders of Malabu were changed but the records are incomplete with no sign of the earlier directors resigning. $5m changed hands for Pecos to buy the former ambassador's interest with receipts and a cheque proving the purchase.
8/ Up until 2010 Malabu never had a bank account, its corporate records and ownership were unclear and the only assets it had was OPL 245 and some involvement with one other oil block OPL 214.
9/ In 2010 new filings were made to Malabu's records but these filings seemed to ignore the earlier changes to Malabu's directors and shareholders. The filings allowed the new Malabu directors to open bank accounts at Keystone Bank and First Bank Nigeria.
10/ An official at Nigeria's corporate affairs commission who was looking into Malabu's corporate records was murdered in 2009. More to come but the court is breaking for lunch.
11/ The EFCC investigator explains how Malabu lost OPL 245 in the early 2000s, Shell got the license after a tender in 2002 but in 2006, despite Malabu losing in court the attorney general Bayo Ojo settled with Malabu and gave back the license "for reasons best know to him".
12/ He adds that former Nigerian Attorney General/ Minister of Justice Bayo Ojo. They also interviewed people Shell and Malabu as part of the OPL 245 investigation.
13/ The EFCC investigator has explained how Malabu was confident Goodluck Jonathan would support Malabu because Etete and Jonathan came from the same state. Malabu wrote to the Jonathan government asking for their support.
14/ The EFCC traced money from the OPL 245 deal to bureau de changes. The witness explains that people use them because its easier to get cash from them than banks. The EFCC found that the cash was collected on behalf of Aliyu Abubakar.
15/ Aliyu Abubakar explained in his interview with the EFCC that he had known Jonathan since he was deputy governor in Bayelsa State.
16/ The EFCC found that there were also financial transactions between the former Attorney General Mohamed Adoke and Aliyu Abubakar.
17/ The EFCC explains that in Nigeria they have charged Dan Etete, Mohamed Adoke, Aliyu Abubakar, Shell and Eni's Nigerian subsidiaries and their managers with corruption or related charges.
18/ Etete's lawyer takes over cross examination. Tries to ask if the EFCC investigation was questioned by the current Attorney General Malami but he has no evidence beyond newspaper articles which the court rules it won't accept as evidence.
19/ The EFCC says that they are looking for Mohamed Adoke as they want him to answer their questions but he is not in Nigeria.
20/ The former Italian justice minister (representing the Eni CEO) asks about the composition of the EFCC board, were there NGOs on it, was @Global_Witness a member of the board? No is the answer.
21/ Next hearing should be next Wednesday. In the meantime do check out our latest report on the case globalwitness.org/ru/campaigns/o…
