A law firm representing a former member of the House of Representatives has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to reopen and prosecute a corruption case against former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, based on a commission report first issued in 2006.
Sagitarian Law Firm, acting for Hon. Ehiozuwa J. Agbonayinma, a former lawmaker and ex-member of the Code of Conduct Bureau, filed the petition in a letter dated August 27 and received at the EFCC chairman's office on September 1. The firm cited a September 2006 document titled "The EFCC Report on Vice-President Abubakar Atiku," which it said contained allegations of sleaze, money laundering and other financial crimes dating to Atiku's time as vice president between 2005 and 2006. The petition also referenced a February 2010 US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations report alleging further money laundering activity.
The lawyers argued that the EFCC had indicated an intention to prosecute Atiku once he left the immunity granted to sitting vice presidents but never followed through, calling the inaction a "deliberate dereliction of duty." They asked the commission to reactivate both reports as grounds for "immediate prosecution."
Atiku has previously rejected similar allegations, saying no court has ever convicted him on the claims and that a petition is not evidence of guilt. The EFCC had not publicly responded to the petition as of Friday, and the commission's next steps remain unclear.
