Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has expressed his joy and solidarity over the acquittal of media mogul, Raymond Dokpesi, by the Federal Court of Appeal in connection with the alleged N2.1 billion money laundering charges brought against him by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in relations to arms scandal linked to former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki.
In a statement signed by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, Atiku said he was elated with the outcome of the trial saying it revealed the truth about the lopsided nature of the anti-corruption policy under the watch of President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to the Wazirin Adamawa, “the entire anti-corruption trials appear to be focused on opposition politicians, thereby casting doubts on the credibility of the anti graft agency.”
He recalled that during the 2019 presidential election, the EFCC focused its time and resources on harassing and arraigning aides of opposition politicians, while it was indifferent to how members of the ruling party were financing their campaigns.
The 2019 Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, noted that even members of the international community “are now coming to terms with the reality that the anti corruption crusade is not impartial, and that the government is now using the anti corruption policy to contrive charges against those they want to use to advance certain political objectives.
Atiku said he was impressed with the appointment of Abdul Rasheed Bawa as EFCC chairman, but advised him to learn from the mistakes of his predecessors.
“As a young man of great intellect and confidence, I’m confident that you are up to the task. You must be ready to restore the glory of the EFCC by changing its public perception as a political tool of the government in power. Let your conscience and history judge you. But you can only do so if you resist external manipulation. May Allah guide you right”, Atiku prayed for Bawa.