“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.”
A spokesperson for US DOJ, Peter Carr, stated this as a response to Punch's request for information on whether Atiku is wanted in the US in connection with any issue of money laundering.
The mail also asked the department to confirm whether he 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.”
Recalled that last week, Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, had implied that Atiku is avoiding a visit to the US because he might be charged with a case of money laundering.
Atiku had insisted that el-Rufai lied against him.
