* Case dropped weeks after acting president takes office
* Ribadu won international respect as anti-corruption chief
* Withdrawal of charges could pave way for return
ABUJA, April 1 (Reuters) - Nigeria said on Thursday it had dropped a legal case against respected former anti-corruption chief Nuhu Ribadu, potentially paving the way for him to return to help Acting President Goodluck Jonathan fight graft.
Nigeria's Attorney General has applied for the withdrawal of charges against Ribadu for not declaring his assets after he was fired as head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in late 2007, a justice ministry spokeswoman said.
Ribadu was appointed as the first head of the EFCC after international pressure mounted on Nigeria to clean up its atrocious record on corruption. He quickly won respect among diplomats for making arrests and seizures in a country where the rich and powerful had long considered themselves immune.
But Ribadu also earned enemies for pursuing cases against powerful former state governors and was fired several months after President Umaru Yar'Adua took power almost three years ago. He has since fled the country and lives in Britain.
Jonathan assumed executive powers two months ago in the absence of Yar'Adua, who remains too sick to govern despite having returned from medical treatment in Saudi Arabia. He has vowed to make fighting corruption one of his top priorities.
"If the Acting President finds (Ribadu) useful, why not, he could be called to serve," a presidency source told Reuters, asking not to be named.
Ribadu, who has said he was harassed and his life threatened before leaving Nigeria, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Endemic corruption in Africa's most populous nation is a major disincentive to foreign investors, who view it as an indicator of inefficient public spending and therefore a major break on economic growth.
Yar'Adua came to power in May 2007 promising zero tolerance for graft but the removal of Ribadu and lack of progress in prosecuting politically sensitive cases have done little to boost confidence, not least among European donors who have poured $35 million into the EFCC. (Writing by Randy Fabi; Editing by Nick Tattersall and Noah Barkin)
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