A Nigerian lawyer, E.P. Aninze, has revisited the controversial corruption case involving former Gombe State Governor and current Senator Danjuma Goje, questioning the decision by former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, to discontinue the prosecution in 2019.
Aninze, in a post on X, described the Goje case as one of what he considers the failures of the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari in the fight against corruption.
Goje, who served as governor of Gombe State from 2003 to 2011, was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alongside other defendants over allegations including conspiracy, money laundering and financial impropriety.
The case initially involved 21 counts. In March 2019, however, the Federal High Court in Jos discharged Goje and the other defendants on 19 of the counts, while ruling that they had a case to answer on two remaining counts.
The allegations included alleged irregularities surrounding contracts for the supply of food to the Gombe State Government House and the handling of loans and other state transactions. The EFCC had also alleged that a House of Assembly resolution was forged in connection with a loan obtained from Access Bank.
Aninze focused particularly on events surrounding the 2019 race for President of the Senate.
Goje was a contender for the Senate presidency but eventually withdrew from the contest and endorsed Ahmad Lawan, who was the preferred candidate of the All Progressives Congress leadership at the time.
Contemporary reports confirmed that Goje met with President Muhammadu Buhari before announcing his withdrawal from the race. Shortly afterwards, the EFCC transferred the case to the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
The timing has continued to fuel speculation and criticism from commentators who have questioned whether the political development was connected to the subsequent handling of Goje's corruption case.
However, the available records establish the sequence of events but do not by themselves establish that Goje's withdrawal from the Senate presidency race was exchanged for the termination of his criminal prosecution.
After taking over the case, the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation eventually applied to discontinue the remaining charges against Goje.
The Federal High Court in Jos subsequently quashed the remaining two counts after the AGF's office applied for their withdrawal, effectively bringing the prosecution to an end.
Malami later defended the decision, arguing that the AGF had not withdrawn a N25 billion case as widely reported. He said 19 of the original 21 counts had already been struck out by the court and that the remaining two counts were reviewed before his office concluded that there was no prima facie case to sustain them.
He cited the AGF's constitutional powers under Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution as the basis for the decision.
Goje, for his part, defended the withdrawal, describing the remaining allegations as trivial and arguing that terminating the case was the appropriate decision.
Aninze's comments have revived debate over the use of the constitutional power of the Attorney-General to discontinue criminal proceedings, particularly in politically sensitive corruption cases.
Critics of the decision have argued that allowing the prosecution to end after years of litigation undermined public confidence in Nigeria's anti-corruption campaign. Others, including Malami, have maintained that the decision was legally justified after reviewing the remaining charges.
The Goje case remains one of the high-profile examples frequently cited in discussions about the effectiveness and independence of Nigeria's anti-corruption institutions.
While Aninze described the development as evidence of political interference in the fight against corruption, such a conclusion remains an allegation or interpretation rather than a finding established by a court.
Goje remains a serving senator representing Gombe Central in the 10th National Assembly.
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