The International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) has rejected a wanted alert issued by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against Lagos businessman, Bashir Haske, describing the move as ‘politically motivated’.

In a statement on Friday morning, the France-based security body said it would not lend 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.”

“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 statement added.

Interpol also noted that it was aware of Haske’s ties to Nigeria’s opposition leader, Atiku Abubakar, who served as vice president from 1999 to 2007 and was the main challenger to President Bola Tinubu in the 2023 election. Mr Abubakar has recently played a central role in forming a new coalition ahead of the 2027 polls.

The EFCC, under its embattled chairman Ola Olukoyede, declared Mr Haske wanted on Thursday night, accusing him of money laundering despite an existing federal court order prohibiting such action. This newspaper gathered that the move was part of an effort to weaponise Haske’s marriage to Atiku’s daughter in the wider political battle for control of Nigeria’s state oil company, NNPC.

Earlier this month, Popular newspaper, The Gazette, reported that the EFCC and allied security agencies attempted to force the resignation of NNPC’s chief executive, Bayo Ojulari, by detaining him and extracting a letter under duress.

The plot collapsed following the intervention of First Lady Remi Tinubu, who countered the influence of Olatimbo Ayinde, a British-Nigerian businesswoman currently facing corruption charges in the UK.

Ms Ayinde has been accused of spearheading a campaign to oust Mr Ojulari from NNPC.

Efforts to reach Mr Haske’s representatives and NNPC’s spokesperson on Friday were unsuccessful. His current whereabouts remain unclear, though sources suggested he may have left the country after his brief detention last month.