Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation says the N25 billion fraud case against Danjuma Goje, senator representing Gombe central, was withdrawn because the federal government has the constitutional right to do so.
Shortly after Goje withdrew from the race for Senate president and endorsed Ahmad Lawan, the consensus candidate of the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the criminal case against him by the FG was dropped.
Recall that Goje shortly after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa in Abuja withdrew from the race and the corruption case against him was three days later — the office of the attorney-general of the federation announced that it has taken over the case from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Read Also: Nigerians Ridicule Buhari For Withdrawing Corruption Charges Against Senator Goje
Malami, in a statement signed by Umar Gwandu, his spokesman, on Friday, said thus:
“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 a N25bn case. ”
“The EFCC had filed a 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 Senator Goje.
“It was the said last two counts that the AGF thoroughly reviewed in 2019 and having found no prima facie case, withdrew in exercise of his constitutional power pursuant to Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution.”
