We Do Not Have Any Record Of Pending Case Or Lawsuit Against Atiku Abubakar -- US Department of Justice

WASHINGTON has denied having any record that indicates that former vice president and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has a pending lawsuit in the US.

Over the weekend, Alhaji Abubakar emerged as the PDP's presidential candidate, beating 11 other contestants to clinch the party's ticket ahead of next year's elections. Although so far, there are a total of 21 contestants in the race, next year's elections are expected to be a two-horse race between Alhaji Abubakar and President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Following Alhaji Abubakar's emergence as the candidate,  the APC campaign team has swung into action, questioning his suitability to be president. According to the APC, Alhaji Abubakar is wanted in the US where he has been indicted on corruption charges and there is a possibility that he might be arrested and charged if he visits the country.

However, the United States Department of Justice (Doj) has denied having any record to this effect. Doj spokesman Peter Carr, however, refused to deny or confirm whether Alhaji Abubakar has been banned from entering the US with regards to his role in the Halliburton scandal which resulted in the conviction of an American lawmaker, William Jefferson.

Mr Carr said: "I have checked the public court records, and they do not showcases filed against a defendant named Atiku Abubakar. Visa issues are confidential under section 222(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, so if your question is specifically about entry, not about visas per se, I would refer you to the US Customs and Border Protection.”

Last week, Kaduna State governor Nasir el-Rufai had implied that Alhaji Abubakar was avoiding a visit to the US because he might be charged with a case of money laundering. Alhaji Abubakar, has, however, denied this, saying that he has applied for a US visa and is waiting for one to be issued to him.