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 our correspondent 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.
Source:Punch
Tags
Politics