Details Emerge About How FBI Once Probed Atiku in 2005, Searched His House During Investigation

In a throwback revelation, details have emerged about how the FBI raided the Maryland residence of Atiku Abubakar on August 3, 2005.

Atiku, who was Nigeria’s Vice President at the time, was investigated as part of a probe into whether U.S. congressman William Jefferson made or approved payments to officials in West Africa.

The raid was reported by the NBC, New York Times and top news outlets.

Link to Congressman William Jefferson

According to New York Times, the investigation centred on Jefferson, a Democratic congressman from New Orleans. According to the report, federal agents were searching for records that could show whether Jefferson paid, offered to pay, or authorised payments to Nigerian or Ghanaian officials.

Documents revealed that agents were particularly interested in Jefferson’s dealings with Atiku Abubakar and Ghana’s Vice President, Aliu Mahama.

Nigerian presidency’s response

Atiku Abubakar was not available for comment at the time. However, a Nigerian presidential spokeswoman stated as quoted by NBC:

“The presidency has been notified of the incident and is using diplomatic channels to find out the reason and the findings surrounding the incident.”

U.S. State Department confirmation

A U.S. State Department official confirmed that Abubakar’s house in Potomac, just outside Washington, had been searched. Questions were referred to the Justice Department, which declined to comment.

The subpoenas partly focused on a telecommunications deal Jefferson was trying to push in Nigeria. Sources said Jefferson was attempting to pave the way for iGate Corp., a Kentucky-based company, to introduce its high-speed broadband technology into Nigeria’s growing telecommunications market. Jefferson had returned from a five-day trip to Ghana in mid-July, just weeks before the FBI raid.

Jefferson’s legal position

Jefferson’s spokeswoman, Melanie Roussell, said the congressman would not comment on the probe but confirmed he was cooperating with investigators. His attorney, Mike Fawer, suggested that the FBI had been conducting a sting operation against Jefferson.

Reasons Tinubu opposes release of FBI records

Legit.ng earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu has asked the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to block the release of his unredacted records with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).

Source: Legit.ng