We Don’t Have Criminal Case Against Atiku – US

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, Punch reported on November 20, 2016.

A then spokesperson for the US DOJ, Peter Carr had through an email reached out to Punch following the newspaper’s request for information on whether Abubakar is wanted in the US in connection with any issue of money laundering.

In his response, 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.”

The mail sent by Punch also asked the department to confirm whether Abubakar was 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 the Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party for the 2019 election) 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.”