A former member of the House of Representatives, Ehiozuwa Agbonayinma has challenged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to reopen and prosecute an alleged financial crimes case involving former Vice President and African Democratic Congress, ADC presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
Agbonayinma, through his Principal Counsel, Hannibal Egbe Uwaifo, SAN, of Sagitarian Law Firm, gave the anti-graft agency 14 days to act on his demand, threatening legal action if it fails to do so.
In the petition, the former lawmaker alleged that the EFCC investigated allegations of corruption involving Atiku between 2005 and 2006, when he served as vice president. He said the investigation resulted in a report titled, “The EFCC Report on Vice-President Abubakar Atiku,” dated September 2006.
According to the petition, the report contained allegations of corrupt practices, money laundering and other financial crimes involving Atiku.
Agbonayinma claimed that although the EFCC had indicated that it would prosecute Atiku after he left office, no prosecution had taken place.
The petition stated: “That although the allegations were mind-boggling and the EFCC vowed to prosecute Alhaji Abubakar Atiku as soon as he leaves office as Vice President, being covered by Constitutional Immunity then, nothing has been done till date despite public outcry both within and outside Nigeria.”
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The former lawmaker alleged that the EFCC’s failure to act amounted to a dereliction of duty and undermined the agency’s anti-corruption mandate.
He also cited an alleged investigation by the United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, saying it raised allegations relating to money laundering and other financial crimes involving Atiku in a report dated February 4, 2010.
Agbonayinma urged the EFCC to reactivate both its 2006 report and the US Senate report as the basis for prosecuting Atiku.
“In the circumstances, it is the demand of our Client that the EFCC report and the report of the United States Senate Permanent Sub-Committee on Investigations, Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs report dated February 4, 2010, be reactivated as a basis for the immediate prosecution of former Vice President Abubakar Atiku to serve as a deterrent,” the petition stated.
He said prosecuting the case would demonstrate the EFCC’s commitment to tackling corruption, particularly cases involving high-profile individuals.
The petition added: “Our Client believes that the present leadership at the EFCC has all it takes to bring Nigeria out of the high corruption index for which the country is presently infamous, and the prosecution of this case will represent one of the greatest milestone achievements of your anti-corruption body.”
Agbonayinma subsequently gave the EFCC 14 days from the date of the petition to act on his demands. “Take notice that if, after 14 days of this letter, your Commission, the EFCC, refuses or neglects to act, our further instruction is to take legal action against your Commission,” the petition warned.
Vanguard
