Former Kogi West senator Dino Melaye has warned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against inviting former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar for questioning over longstanding allegations of financial crimes.
Melaye spoke at the African Democratic Congress (ADC) All Support Groups town hall meeting in Abuja, where he criticised calls for the anti-graft agency to reopen investigations into allegations involving Atiku.
He argued that Atiku, who served as vice-president under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, had been investigated by government institutions several times without being convicted.
“Atiku was part of the government that created the EFCC. You cannot use the EFCC to torment the creator of the EFCC,” Melaye said.
His comments followed a petition by former House of Representatives member Ehiozuwa Agbonayinma, who asked the EFCC to reopen investigations and prosecute Atiku over alleged financial crimes.
Agbonayinma, through his lawyer, Hannibal Uwaifo of Sagitarian Law Firm, reportedly gave the commission 14 days to act on the petition.
The petition referenced an EFCC investigation and report concerning Atiku between 2005 and 2006, when he was vice-president. It also cited a 2010 report by the United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations containing allegations of money laundering and other financial crimes.
However, the allegations have not resulted in a criminal conviction against Atiku.
Melaye maintained that the former vice-president had been repeatedly investigated during and after the Obasanjo administration.
“I, as Dino Melaye, I am aware that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has been investigated by Olusegun Obasanjo and the federal government time and time and time and time again,” he said, adding that Atiku had won 13 cases involving the Federal Government.
Melaye warned that the ADC would resist what he described as any politically motivated attempt to use the EFCC against Atiku ahead of the 2027 elections.
“My note of warning is this, and this note of warning is straight to the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. That the day EFCC invites Atiku Abubakar before election, then Tinubu will know that government is not owned by those in government,” he said.
He also referenced the 2011 Tunisian revolution, suggesting that Nigerians could challenge the government if they believed state institutions were being used against opposition figures.
Melaye further questioned why allegations against Atiku should be revisited after years of investigations, saying, “They have investigated Atiku everywhere. The only thing they are yet to find out about Atiku is where his placenta was buried. They have done everything.”
Atiku had earlier rejected calls for the EFCC to reopen the allegations, arguing that the matters had previously been examined by the anti-graft agency, an administrative panel, the National Assembly and the courts.
The former vice-president said no court had convicted him over the allegations and challenged anyone with credible evidence against him to present it for legal scrutiny.
Atiku also accused supporters of President Bola Tinubu’s administration of reviving old allegations to divert attention from Nigeria’s economic and security challenges.
The EFCC has not publicly announced whether it will act on Agbonayinma’s petition.
