The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has dismissed insinuations that politics influenced the Federal Government’s recent withdrawal of fraud charges involving the former Managing Director of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, Ahmed Kuru, and the former Chairman of First Bank Plc, Oba Otudeko.
Fagbemi said there was no sentiment, emotion or political consideration in the government’s decision, stressing that criminal prosecution must be strictly guided by law and evidence.
“There is no politics behind it, no sentiment, no emotion. In criminal law, you must not leave gaps,” he told journalists on Thursday on the sidelines of the top Management Retreat organised by the Federal Ministry of Justice at 4Point by Sheraton Hotel in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State.
The retreat had as its theme: ‘Positioning for Digital Transformation’.
Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State Special Offences and Domestic Violence Court, Ikeja, had on July 24, 2025, struck out a N60bn fraud case against Kuru after the Federal Government, through the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, M.B. Abubakar, filed a notice of discontinuance.
Clarifying the decision, Fagbemi explained that Kuru had no direct criminal liability in the matter.
“In the case of Ahmed Kuru, what happened was that he was not connected; there was nothing to try him for. What was involved was an investment in the name of AMCON. Both the principal and the interest were recovered by the EFCC. It was not in any individual’s name. So, what offence has been committed?” he said.
He added, however, that Kuru still had other pending cases.
“Don’t forget, there are two other cases. There was one involving about N5bn, involving another person, whose name I cannot remember now.
For that one, because we believe that there is what I would call a prima facie case, we said it should continue.
“There’s another one against Kuru in relation to his activities as either a manager or so, in Arik Airline. That one, I also found that there are some questions to be answered. In other words, we have a prima facie case against him there, and I ordered that one should continue,” Fagbemi disclosed.
On the withdrawal of fraud charges against Otudeko, Fagbemi said it was equally not political but was based on the decision of the complainants.
The EFCC had in January charged Otudeko alongside three others with alleged N12.3bn loan fraud.
But the case was struck out on July 23, 2025, after the prosecution withdrew the matter.
Explaining the rationale, the AGF said: “The case of Oba Otudeko has to do with the management of First Bank. What happened was that the complainants came and said we are withdrawing our complaints, we have gotten all that we thought was lost or was taken away. Both parties agreed. So why do you want to waste government resources again?”
The AGF warned against “weaponising prosecution,” insisting that every case must be treated strictly on merit.
“Let me use this opportunity to remind us all that the question of prosecution, when you talk of the rule of law, does not admit of weaponising prosecution. We do treat each case on its merit. And you do not get the courts involved in, or turn the courts into what I would call theatres of spectacle. If a case is not made out, it is just not made out. There is no two ways about it. You don’t have to dissipate government energy and resources,” he said.
Fagbemi also rejected suggestions of presidential interference in the withdrawals.
“What has the President got to do with this one? To drop charges against friends of God? It’s a criminal case. The Attorney General has been put in place. And we are doing what we feel and believe should be the appropriate step,” he said.
He maintained that the independence of anti-graft agencies remained intact, noting that the Ministry of Justice only acts on the strength of their investigative reports.
“When they finish with their investigations, we look at the report and take appropriate action. So it is at the stage of investigation that a great deal of issues will come in. What we do is to leave them because they are best suited, they are well organised, and that’s why they are put in place to try and do investigations in respect of an allegation or commission of a crime,” the AGF said.
Source: Punch Newspapers
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