Aondoakaa denies involvement in Halliburton scam

FORMER Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Chief Mike Aondokaa, has dismissed media reports that he was involved in Halliburton scandal and should be arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

In a telephone interview with The Nation, Aondoakaa advised the group who raised the allegation to leave him alone as it was too early to drag him into 2013 politics.

He said he has taken advantage of President Muhammadu Buhari’s agriculture policy which, according to him, is yielding fruits for farmers.

He said his attention was drawn to a publication authored by a civil society group, Global Integrity Crusade Network (GICN), calling for his arrest and prosecution over Halliburton, 10 years after he left office.

“As the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice  under the government of the Late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, between year 2007 and 2010 , I  did not negotiate or authorize any payment to the Nigeria Government with one KBR firm a subsidiary of Halliburton as alleged by the so called Global Integrity Crusade Network.”

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“In fact, all payments made to the government of Nigeria from the Halliburton were done in 2012 when Chief MKA has left office, so its laughable to call for my arrest and prosecution,” he said.

On the allegation that he ordered the transfer of the case of former Governor James Ibori from Kaduna to Asaba, Aondoakaa stated that the lawyers to Ibori raised the issue of jurisdiction and the trial judge transferred the matter to Asaba.

He described Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) under Magu as the chairman, as courageous, adding that if he was involved in Halliburton, EFCC would have arrested and charged him to court.

According to the Ex AGF, the EFCC invited him in 2016 and he said all he know and that since then, he is into farming and practising his legal profession and knows nothing about Halliburton.