‘Obasanjo Enpanelled Bayo Ojo, Ribadu, El-Rufai To Probe Me, But Found Nothing’ — Atiku

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has revealed that his former principal, -President Olusegun Obasanjo, once authorised a high-level panel to investigate him while he was still in office, saying the probe uncovered no evidence of corruption against him.

Atiku made the disclosure on Wednesday evening during an appearance on ARISE News Channel’s Prime Time Special, where he addressed long-standing allegations about his integrity.

According to him, the investigative panel was constituted under the then Attorney General Bayo Ojo, SAN and included notable figures such as the then chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), now National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, as well as the then Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai.

“My former principal, Olusegun Obasanjo, had every opportunity. He set up a panel under the former attorney general Bayo Ojo. Nuhu Ribadu was a member, El-Rufai was a member,” Atiku said.

He explained that despite enjoying constitutional immunity as vice president at the time, he voluntarily waived it to allow the investigation proceed.

“And they came to my office, they said, ‘we have the instructions of Mr President to probe you.’ I said, ‘but do you know I have constitutional immunity?’ They said, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘Okay, I have decided to waive the immunity, probe me,’” he stated.

Atiku stressed that the outcome of the probe cleared him of any wrongdoing.

“They probed me. What did they find? Nothing!” he declared.

He further argued that the corruption allegations that have trailed him over the years were politically-driven rather than evidence-based.

“My corruption perception only arose through allegations which were not proved,” he added.

Describing the episode as unprecedented, that a sitting president would authorise an investigation into his own deputy, he said, “I am saying this for the first time in public, the president set up a panel to investigate his own vice president who has immunity.”