Why US May Give Atiku Visa – Keyamo

The Director, Strategic Communications, President Muhammadu Buhari
Campaign Organisation, Mr. Festus Keyamo (SAN), says the Presidential
candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, may
soon be given a United States visa because he is a candidate for the
Presidency.

Keyamo said this in a statement on Sunday while reacting to allegations levelled against his principal by Atiku’s campaign team.

He
said US Congress in a report titled, ‘Keeping foreign corruption out of
the US’, featured Atiku as one of the four notorious cases of money
laundering in the world!

The senior advocate said, “Atiku’s
co-conspirators, Williams Jefferson and Siemens in the bribery deal were
convicted and Jefferson went to jail. By running for President of
Nigeria, Atiku intends to get some immunity from prosecution.

“Already
he is hoping to obtain a visa to visit the US, as a guest of the State
Department, a concession that the US will grant to a Presidential
candidate of Africa’s biggest nation.”

He said the congress
report noted that Jennifer Douglas Abubakar, a US citizen, who is the
fourth wife of Atiku, from 2000 to 2008, helped her husband bring over
$40m in suspect funds into the US including at least $1.7m in bribe
payments from Siemens AG, a German corporation, and over $38m from
little known offshore corporations.

Keyamo said rather than
answer to the allegations, Atiku a few days ago, called President
Muhammadu Buhari over certain allegations of “corrupt practices” which
the President allegedly condones in his government.

The senior
advocate said the US Department of Justice’s claim that Atiku was not
under investigation did not exonerate the former Vice-President.

He
added, “How do we as a nation end up with anyone with this sordid
record locally and internationally? We have heard the lame defence that
the US Justice Department said it has no pending case against Atiku
Abubakar. That is only a defence for the ignorant ones.

“In the
US, there are indictments the Justice Department can confirm to the
world. But there is another category of indictments known as sealed
indictments that the Justice Department cannot confirm to anyone. These
indictments are sealed under the orders of a Judge.

“Alhaji Atiku
Abubakar has a sealed indictment waiting for him in the US. The day he
visits the US, not as a candidate in an election, he will face charges.”