A pro-transparency organisation, the Accountability Watch, has challenged Abdullahi Haske, businessman and son-in-law to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, to make himself available to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for investigations.
Haske, founder of AA & R Investment Group, was placed on the EFCC’s wanted list on August 22 after allegedly breaching the terms of his administrative bail and failing to honour invitations by the commission.
The businessman, who is under investigation for alleged multi-million-dollar financial crimes, had denied fleeing from the anti-graft agency, insisting that he was only away to receive urgent medical attention.
In a statement issued by his Abuja office on Tuesday, Haske said “I am not on the run. I am committed to cooperating with lawful investigations. All I ask is that EFCC conducts its duties within the ambit of the rule of law and without political interference.”
But Accountability Watch described Haske’s claims as mere delay tactics.
The group’s Executive Secretary, Benjamin Asan, in a statement on Friday, argued that Haske’s failure to grant EFCC access, whether at home or even from a hospital bed, raised doubts about his sincerity.
He said, “If Mr. Haske is truly not trying to evade justice, why is he not making himself available to EFCC investigators?
“Seeking medical care is a right, but it should not be used as a cover to frustrate a corruption probe involving multi-million-dollar fraud.”
Asan stressed that the EFCC was not a political body but a statutory agency mandated to investigate corruption, adding that it was the courts—not the EFCC—that determine guilt or innocence.
“Mr. Haske should know that if he has done nothing wrong, he has nothing to fear. The EFCC’s role is to investigate and, if necessary, charge suspects before a competent court. It is only the court that can convict or acquit him,” Asan said.
He urged Haske to disclose his location and give investigators unrestricted access if he is truly cooperating, saying “Only then will his claims of commitment to the process be credible.”
