Ex-Minister, Mike Aondoakaa, Sues US Government Over Visa Revocation‎.

Former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Michael Aondoakaa, has sued the American government, seeking explanation for the revocation of his U.S. non-immigrant visa.

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An unnamed U.S. diplomat, who spoke to Punch Newspapers at the time, confirmed that the former minister's visa was revoked under Proclamation 7750 that empowers the U.S. authorities to bar anyone with links to corruption from entering the U.S.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.

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.

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FOIA suit against the US Department of State asking for the release of documents showing reasons why his client's visa was revoked.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certain records sought by the plaintiff including document relevant to the reasons for which his non-immigrant visa was revoked," the court documents read.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.