I Am Not Under U.S. Surveillance — Atiku

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By Editorial Board
Sept. 23, 2020, 5:38 a.m.

Former Nigeria Vice President, Atiku Ababakar

Former Vice Pres­ident Atiku Abu­bakar has denied a report that the Financial Crimes Enforce­ment Network (FinCEN), an agency of the U.S. De­partment of Treasury, placed him and his fam­ily members under close watch over alleged finan­cial fraud. Abubakar, the presi­dential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2019 general elec­tions, gave the clarifica­tion in a statement issued by his Media Aide, Paul Ibe, in Abuja on Tuesday. Ibe said his principal’s attention had been drawn to recycled and regurgitat­ed lies about the person of Abubakar. “For the avoidance of doubt, Atiku Abubakar is not under any U.S. watch list, neither has he been charged, or will ever be charged by the US Justice Department or any other in a foreign jurisdiction. “It will be recalled that these recycled lies were re-unearthed just before the February 23, 2019 presidential election, and to put paid to it, Abubakar applied for and received a U.S. visa, whereupon he embarked on a visit to the US on January 17, 2019. “He stayed at a hotel just miles to the United States Department of Jus­tice. “Abubakar in the course of that trip was also re­ceived in audience by offi­cials of the United States government,” Ibe said. He said that the new reports were a desperate gambit to recast these dis­credited accusations. “They are meant to divert the attention of Nigerians from the re­cent statement by the Secretary of State of the United States, Mr. Mike Pompeo, announcing visa and travel bans for certain unnamed but notorious in­dividuals. “Moreover, the timing of this report, less than 24 hours after the Edo State gubernatorial elections, should give some thought to thinking people. “And considering the season that we are in, more of such jaundiced stories seeking to discred­it Abubakar would come.” Ibe reiterated that Abu­bakar and every member of his family kept a clean business portfolio that had nothing to do with gov­ernment resources and in conformity with local and foreign laws of respective countries.