Atiku Abubakar faces petition to reopen financial crime probe

Ehiozuwa Agbonayinma, a former member of the House of Representatives, has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to reopen and prosecute former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar for alleged financial crimes.

Through counsel Hannibal Uwaifo of Sagitarian Law Firm, the petition requests action based on a 2006 EFCC report and a 2010 United States Senate Permanent Sub-Committee on Investigations report. The allegations involve money laundering and other serious financial offenses occurring during Atiku’s tenure as vice-president between 2005 and 2006.

The petition, received by the EFCC on September 1, gives the agency 14 days to act. The lawyers argue that the failure to prosecute following previous investigations constitutes a violation of the law establishing the EFCC. Atiku Abubakar is currently the presidential candidate for the African Democratic Congress (ADC).