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The International Criminal Police Organisation, INTERPOL, has rebuffed a wanted person alert placed on Bashir Haske, a Lagos-based businessman, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
Haske is also a son-in-law of former vice president Atiku Abubakar, and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, flag bearer in the 2023 presidential race, which he lost to President Bola Tinubu.
The INTERPOL said it would not act on EFCC’s alert because it was ‘politically motivated’.
The EFCC on Thursday declared Haske wanted over allegations of criminal conspiracy and money laundering.
Dele Oyewale, Head of Media and Publicity, the EFCC, in a statement urged members of the public with helpful information about Haske’s whereabouts to report to the nearest police station or any of the commission’s offices nationwide.
“The public is hereby notified that ABDULLAHI BASHIR HASKE, whose photograph appears above, is wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in an alleged case of Criminal Conspiracy and Money Laundering,” the statement read.
It further noted that useful information with regard to Haske’s whereabouts could be channeled to the commission’s telephone line, or email address.
However, the INTERPOL in a statement on Friday morning, said it would not act on the notice as it would tantamount to lending its network to advance cases with political undertones.
“Please note that INTERPOL has no plans to help member countries to advance politically-motivated cases,” the organisation said, stressing that its constitution explicitly forbids it from acting on requests that target individuals based on political, religious, racial or military grounds,” the statement read.
“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.”
Furthermore, the France-based security organisation noted that it was aware of Haske’s ties to Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president and well-known contender for the presidency with President Bola and is in the forefront of the new political coalition ahead of the 2027 elections.
