The United States Department of Justice has denied having any record
that indicates that Nigeria’s former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has
a pending lawsuit in the US.
In an email to Punch
on Friday, a spokesperson for the US DOJ, Peter Carr said, “Thank you
for reaching out to us. I have checked the public court records, and
they do not show cases filed against a defendant named Atiku Abubakar.”
This was stated as a response to Sunday Punch’s request for information
on whether Abubakar is wanted in the US in connection with any issue of
money laundering.
The mail also asked the department to confirm whether Abubakar has been
banned from entering the US and if there is any court case against him
concerning the Halliburton scandal which resulted in the conviction of a
US lawmaker, William Jefferson.
Asked if it is true that the ex-vice president (now a chieftain of the
All Progressives Congress) was banned from entering the US, the American
official said the issue was confidential.
He said, “Visa issues are confidential under section 222(f) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act. If your question is specifically about
entry – not about visas per se – I would refer you to the US Customs and
Border Protection.”
Last week, Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, had implied
that Abubakar was avoiding a visit to the US because he might be charged
with a case of money laundering.
He reacted to Abubakar’s interview which he granted to the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission’s quarterly publication, Zero Tolerance,
where he had accused the Kaduna governor of corruption by offering him
Transcorp’s shares.
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