The International Criminal Police Organisation, Interpol, has said it would not honour a wanted alert issued against anyone on political grounds, a day after Bashir Haske, a Lagos businessman and son-in-law to Nigerian opposition leader Atiku Abubakar, was declared wanted by Nigeria’s discredited anti-graft agency, EFCC.

The organisation, which has a peculiar reputation for tracking down outlaws on behalf of its member countries around the world, said its constitution prohibits targeting people on political subtexts.

“Please note that INTERPOL will only issue a Red Notice if it complies with the organisation’s rules and Constitution, which notably forbids INTERPOL from issuing a Notice on political, religious, racial or military grounds,” the e-mailed statement added. The global law enforcement body also said member countries exercise control over criminal targets, and its headquarters in Lyon will only honour requests that comply with its stringent regulations to preserve people’s fundamental rights. 

Mr Abubakar, a former vice president, was the main opposition candidate in the 2023 presidential elections. He recently played a key role in forming a new opposition coalition to challenge President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential elections.

Citing a probe into purported money laundering activities, the EFCC declared Mr Haske wanted on Thursday night despite a federal court order against such moves. Peoples Gazette learnt that the EFCC has continued to target Mr Haske as part of efforts to weaponise his marriage to Mr Abubakar’s daughter in an attempt to take control of Nigeria’s state-run oil company, NNPC.

The Gazette had, on August 2, exposed how the EFCC’s administration, under its controversial chairman, Ola Olukoyede, tried to force leadership change at the NNPC by seizing its CEO, Bayo Ojulari, and forcing him to sign a dubious letter of resignation. The letter was later rendered mute after First Lady Remi Tinubu intervened, neutralising the influence of President Bola Tinubu’s mistress, Olatimbo Ayinde. 

Spokespeople for Mr Haske and NNPC were not immediately available for comment about last night’s development. Mr Haske’s whereabouts remained unknown, with sources telling The Gazette he might have left the country following his brief detention last month.

Ms Ayinde, herself standing trial for bribery and corruption in the UK, has been on a relentless campaign to drive Mr Ojulari out of NNPC, and Mr Olukoyede’s EFCC is one of the state instruments she has deployed, The Gazette was told. Mr Olukoyede did not deny attempting to force Mr Ojulari out of NNPC by weaponising his ties to Mr Haske. Still, he said, The Gazette’s story put him in a bad light and demanded a retraction, which the paper immediately disavowed while standing by its story.

A spokesman for the EFCC did not immediately return a request seeking comment. 

The anti-graft office has, for decades, been used by the ruling party to target political opposition in Nigeria. It began operation in 2003 under President Olusegun Obasanjo, but it has no credibility among Nigerians, who regularly mock its activities as political, lazy and corrupt. 

Mr Olukoyede recently defended the agency from allegations of partisanship, despite overwhelming evidence in the public record showing the agency lacks independence and is largely incompetent in investigating cases involving the president’s brazenly corrupt alliesand other ruling party members. 

Last month, another federal judge slammed the agency for often engaging in an insatiable media trial, rather than bringing cases with strong prosecutorial rigour as practised in other climes. 

It was not immediately clear whether or not the EFCC had sought Interpol’s cooperation to hold Mr Haske. Still, the transnational police’s decision to promptly dismiss and dissociate itself from the controversial plot underscored the erosion of credibility for the Nigerian anti-graft authorities.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated to clarify Interpol’s position on notices from member countries.