The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami has denied filing a lawsuit challenging the Nigerian citizenship of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar.
Malami said this in reaction to a media report of being behind a lawsuit filed against Atiku by a group, the Incorporated Trustees of Egalitarian Mission for Africa before the Federal High Court, Abuja.
In a statement released by his spokesman Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, Malami stated that he “has never filled any case before any court in the country challenging the citizenship of the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.”
The statement read;
“Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN has not instituted legal action on the citizenship or otherwise of the former Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
“The Honorable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN has never filled any case before any court in the country challenging the citizenship of the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
“The matter in contention was part of the 2019 pre-election matters instituted by a Civil Society Organization – the Incorporated Trustees of Egalitarian Mission for Africa in suit no: FHC/ABJ/CS/177/2019 in respect of which Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Office of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation was made a co-defendant.
“The issue had already been widely reported by the media since April 2019. Unfortunately, stale news stories capable of confusing are repackaged and presented to the general public as current news.”