The U.S. government had revoked Mr Aondoakaa's visa and those of members of his family soon after he left office due to his alleged link to corruption.
An unnamed U.S. diplomat, who spoke to Punch Newspapers at the time, confirmed that the former minister's visa was revoked under Proclamation 7750 that empowers the U.S. authorities to bar anyone with links to corruption from entering the U.S.
However, further details about the revocation were not disclosed.
PREMIUM TIMES can report today that the former minister filed a case against the State Department after a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request he filed was turned down.
He then approached a United States District Court asking it to compel the U.S. to release documents related to the revocation of his visa to him, according to court papers exclusively obtained by PREMIUM TIMES.
The suit, filed in a US district Court, District of New Jersey, by Mr Aondoakaa's U.S. attorney, Thomas Moseley, was instituted few weeks after the ex-minister denied he was banned from entering the U.S.
"I have not been banned from entering the United States and I have my visa intact," Mr Aondoakaa had said in a statement released on June 26, 2010.
"Secondly, none of my relatives has a student visa to the United States as claimed by some publications. Therefore, the US Government cannot revoke what they did not issue."
However, the court documents shows that on August 10, 2010, Mr Moseley filed the FOIA suit against the US Department of State asking for the release of documents showing reasons why his client's visa was revoked.
"This is an action under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) as amended, 5 U.S.C & 552 et seq. to enjoin the defendant from withholding certain records sought by the plaintiff including document relevant to the reasons for which his non-immigrant visa was revoked," the court documents read.
However, the Department of State did not provide the details sought by Mr Aondoakaa after the expiration of 20 days statutory period for the documents to be provided.
Mr Aondoakaa therefore asked the court to order the State Department to make the documents he sought available to him in "their entirety." He asked the court to award him the cost of disbursement plus attorney fee as well as expediting the proceedings of the complaint.
The documents seen by Premium Times also included an unsigned court summon ordering the Department of State to provide Mr Aondoakaa the information he sought.
"A lawsuit has been filed against you. Within 21 days after service of this summons on you (not counting the day you received it) – or 60 days if you are the United State or a United State agency or an officer or an employee of the United State… you must serve on the plaintiff an answer to the attached compliant or a motion under rule 12 of the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure."
"If you fail to respond, judgement by default will be entered against you for the relief demanded in the complaint."
It is unclear whether the State Department eventually provided my Aondoakaa the details he sought.
The State Department and the United States embassy in Nigeria did not respond to emails sent to them.
Mr Aondoakaa, who is believed to be nursing a governorship ambition in his native state of Benue, couldn't be reached on his mobile phone number for comment on the suit. He didn't answer or return calls.
His attorney, Mr Moseley, also did not respond to our email neither did he return our calls.
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