Goje’s N25bn Case: I Have Constitutional Power To Withdraw Any Case – AGF, Malami

The Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has said that he has the constitutional power to withdraw any criminal corruption case.

He said this while speaking on the withdrawal of the N25bn fraud case against Gombe lawmaker, Senator Danjuma Goje.

Malami was attempting to clear the air on why he was yet to prosecute any corruption case rather; he has been withdrawing cases during his five years in office as AGF.

SaharaReporters had exclusively reported that Goje was asked by the Presidency to step down from the race for the President of the Senate in 2019 in exchange for the quashing of his corruption case when he was governor between 2003 and 2011.

In a statement by Malami’s spokesperson, Dr. Umar Gwandu, the AGF claimed that the case against Goje was weak and had to be withdrawn.

He said, “As to the allegation of withdrawal of the corruption case of N25bn against former Gombe State governor, Senator Danjuma Goje; the first point of correction is that the AGF did not withdraw the case.

“The EFCC had filed 21 charges of N8bn against Senator Goje and had been prosecuting same for over eight years without the AGF’s interference but after a no-case submission filed by Senator Goje, 19 of the 21 counts making up the N8bn were struck out by the court leaving only two counts bordering on the manner in which the sale of some old buses belonging to Gombe State Transport Company between 2003 and 2011 was handled under the watch of Goje.

“It was the last two counts that the AGF thoroughly reviewed in 2019 and having found no prima facie case, withdrew in the exercise of his constitutional power pursuant to Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution.”