A political support group, the Asiwaju Media Team, has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to reopen and review its 2006 investigation into the management of funds belonging to the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, including alleged involvement of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

The group made the demand at a news conference in Akure, the Ondo State capital, where it announced a petition submitted to the anti graft agency and threatened a mass protest if the case is not revisited. The call has revived debate about one of Nigeria most controversial political scandals.

According to the group, the petition relates to the EFCC investigation initiated in 2006 following a request from the United States Department of Justice concerning transactions involving iGate, NDTV and other related entities. It said the investigation later expanded to cover the management and placement of PTDF funds during Atiku tenure as Vice President.

The group recalled that an 18 count charge was subsequently filed before the Code of Conduct Tribunal in 2006 but was halted after courts ruled that Atiku, as a serving Vice President at the time, enjoyed constitutional immunity from criminal proceedings.

Among the transactions examined were the Federal Government approval of 125 million dollars for PTDF purposes, placements of substantial portions of the funds with Equatorial Trust Bank and Trans International Bank, a subsequent 20 million dollar transaction, and transactions involving NDTV, Otunba Oyewole Fasawe, Chief Mike Adenuga, former PTDF Executive Secretary Yusuf Hamisu Abubakar and other persons and companies.

The EFCC report made adverse findings concerning the management of the funds, including findings against then Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

Following the EFCC investigation, then President Olusegun Obasanjo constituted an Administrative Panel headed by the then Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Bayo Ojo. The panel examined the EFCC report and supporting documents and interacted with relevant officials and persons, including Atiku. In its report dated September 5, 2006, the panel found that the then Vice President had abused his office by approving the placement of PTDF funds in banks instead of their immediate application to the projects for which they had been approved.

The panel further made adverse findings concerning the additional 20 million dollars and recommended that Atiku be indicted and held accountable for acts described in its report as embezzlement and fraud which allegedly occurred with his approval and under his supervision. Following these developments, the Federal Republic of Nigeria instituted an 18 count charge before the Code of Conduct Tribunal on September 22, 2006, against Atiku and others.

The Senate also subsequently investigated the PTDF transactions through its Ad Hoc Committee chaired by Senator Victor Ndoma Egba.

Atiku has consistently denied wrongdoing in the PTDF matter. In his response at the time, he argued that the EFCC went beyond its brief and reached a predetermined conclusion to stop him from contesting the presidency. He said PTDF funds were normally invested in commercial banks to earn interest, and that the placements in Equatorial Trust Bank and Trans International Bank were part of that normal practice.

He also maintained that approvals for the funds were obtained, sometimes after the fact, and that the allegations were politically motivated during his falling out with Obasanjo over the third term agenda.

Legal commentators note that an EFCC investigative report and an administrative panel report are not the same as a criminal conviction, and that guilt must be established through the courts.

The courts later set aside aspects of the administrative process, and the Senate investigation also examined allegations against both Atiku and Obasanjo. The renewed call to reopen the case is therefore likely to reignite legal and political arguments about what the records actually established, whether the case can still be prosecuted after nearly two decades, and what it means for the current political season.