For the first time in a court document made available to the public, the US government has identified Nigeria's former Vice President Abubakar Atiku, his US-based wife, Dr. Jennifer Abubakar and a Nigerian businessman Suleiman Yahyah as co-conspirators in the corruption case against US Congressman William Jefferson, Empowered Newswire reports.

But the American government described them as "unindicted conspirators" in court papers in the case against Jefferson being heard by a US district court in Alexandria, Virginia.

Details emerging from a US government response to a motion by Jefferson seeking the testimony of Atiku and the two others outside the US indicate that the US government is not actually opposed to the idea of having Atiku and the two others giving testimony, except that the US government does not support the testimony being given outside the US.

The court papers-US government response- dated May 21 was signed by Chuck Rosenberg, US Attorney and two US government lawyers in the case, Mark D. Lytle and Rebeca H. Bellows and made available to Empowered Newswire recently.

According to the US government response: "The government would welcome the opportunity to cross-examine these three prospective witnesses-who are as the defense correctly notes, unindicted co-conspirators-under oath before this Court and a jury during the trial of this matter."

The motion from the defense lawyers earlier motion submitted before the US district court in Virginia, the US Congressman's attorneys had also noted that the US government "has identified Suleiman Yahyah, Jennifer Douglas Abubakar and Atiku Abubakar as co-conspirators" with regard to the conspiracy charged against the US Congressman Jefferson." The Defense lawyers noted that the US government made the disclosure to it in a letter Feb. 7, 2008.

But the US government went ahead to object to the defense motion to have Atiku and co's testimony outside the US where according to the US government US perjury laws would not be applicable.

According to the response of the US government what US Congressman Jefferson is asking for is the US district court in Virginia to take the testimony and deposition "at a location of her choosing somewhere in Europe where she is not subject to criminal penalties for perjury and obstruction of justice."

The American government lawyers argued that "there is a statutory mechanism by which her-ie Atiku's wife- testimony can be compelled before this Court," since she is a US citizen.

Regarding former Vice President Abubakar and Yahyah, the US government noted that what the defense lawyers want is for the Court to force an international treaty "in a manner inconsistent with its own terms-or in the alternative, that the Court seek recourse from an unnamed Nigerian judicial body-so that these two men can be tracked down and then forced to testify, again, without having their testimony be subject to criminal penalties in the United States."

In a statement that clearly dismissed the Nigerian judiciary the US government lawyers rejected the idea because as they said Nigeria is a country "where, according to a recent State Department report, corruption is massive, widespread, and pervasive at all levels of the government."

Calling the US Congressman's plans to take Atiku and co's deposition in Nigeria a ‘grand misadventure', the US government noted that even if the testimony were successfully taken, "which is very unlikely, such testimony will be highly suspect and its veracity profoundly dubious."

As far as the US government is concerned regarding the attempt of Congressman Jefferson to take the testimony of the three Nigerians out of the US, it is an attempt to "further delay this case for an undetermined amount of time as the matter winds its way through the maze of international protocols and various Nigerian courts.

Besides, in the US government response to the defense motion, government lawyers said it does not believe the former vice president and his wife when they denied knowledge of any plot to funnel bribes to them by Rep. William Jefferson.

Said the US government in new information released in the response to the motion, "Based on the evidence gathered to date, the government believes her-Mrs Atiku- denial of knowledge of a bribery scheme involving your client and her husband is a false exculpatory statement."

According to the government filing, the US Congressman himself had in an audio recording available to the US government described former Vice President Abubakar "as really corrupt and the briefcase business guy."

In footnotes, the US government noted that it was not Jefferson alone who has such an assessment of the former Vice President. Said the notes the Vice president's own government "has leveled allegations of corruption against him," referring to Vanguard of Sept. 9, 2006 with headline EFCC Report-Ministerial Panel Lacks Power to Pronounce Me Guilty-Atiku.

Furthermore the US government noted in its filing that the US Congressman used Abubakar's wife as "a knowing conduit between himself and Vice President Abubakar.

Conceding that the former VP and the two other Nigerians identified as co-conspirators in the case have denied any wrong doing in public statements, the US government insisted that these were merely unbinding, unsworn statements. Said the US government, it believes denials made by Abubakar and Yahyah are "self-serving, unsworn exculpatory statements to be false."

Revealing also for the first time some of the information that the US government has passed to the defense team in the case, the US government filing noted that it granted Atiku's wife "limited use immunity, after which she testified in 2005 before a US federal grand jury.

According to the information contained in the government filing earlier this week in a Virginia court, "During her testimony she confirmed and corroborated contact with your client-ie the Congressman- in June and July of 2005, and she identified a number of materials your clients provided to her." But the information also included the fact that she denied that the Congressman talked to her about his interest in paying her husband money.

According to the US government, "Mrs Abubakar's attorney invoked the marital privilege on behalf of Mrs Abubakar to prohibit questions about Mrs. Abubakar's communications between her and her husband about these topics.



http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9279&catid=3&Itemid=212&allposts=1

J

if he is not guilty let him go to US and clear his name from the dent.

Hmmm Matter arising

On the question of integrity, we don't want a President that has been fingered as coconspirator in a criminal case involving financial crimes. We are fighting to defeat corruption and pleading with foreing institutions to assist us in the process. When one man steal our treasury and hide away thousands of citizens suffer, many die. We want to plug that hole and we want to partner foreign governments to block dirty money.

What message do we pass on to international partners when we vote for Atiku, a co-conspirator in money laundering and financial crimes? It means we are not serious about stopping corruption or blocking theft of our treasury. It means a vote to be robbed by thieves, those who stop at nothing to get their way....including bribing delegates $10000 to get favor....same offense US accused him of many years ago.


Say NO to coconspirators in crime!