Why I withdrew Goje fraud case – AGF

The Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), said he withdrew the N25bn fraud case against Gombe Central lawmaker, Senator Danjuma Goje, stating that the case against him was weak.

The Muhammadu Buhari regime had come under fire for withdrawing the charges against Goje barely three weeks after he abandoned his ambition to run for the Senate Presidency and endorse Senator Ahmed Lawan.

In a statement signed by Abubakar Malami’s spokesman, Dr Umar Gwandu, the AGF said he had the constitutional right to withdraw any criminal case at any time.

The statement read in part, “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.

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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 were 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.”