A former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has explained why he remains in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission after voluntarily honouring an invitation on Monday.
Malami is being questioned over allegations linked to terrorism financing, ownership of multiple bank accounts, the hiring of several lawyers in the recovery of the $322.5 million Abacha loot, and the management of funds released under the conditional cash transfer programme.
He said no specific reason was given for his continued detention apart from being told that his previous administrative bail had been revoked, even though he insists he never breached any of its conditions.
Through his media aide, Mohammed Bello Doka, Malami dismissed the allegations as baseless, stressing there is no investigation or charge against him for terrorism financing and that the claim he operated 46 bank accounts is fictitious. Doka said Malami has never been questioned on such accusations and described recent reports as part of a coordinated media trial.
He also defended Malami’s record as Attorney-General, citing his role in strengthening Nigeria’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism laws, reforms that contributed to Nigeria’s removal from the FATF grey list.
He explained that Malami rejected the costly terms proposed by Swiss lawyer Enrico Monfrini in the Abacha loot recovery and instead negotiated a significantly cheaper 5 percent success fee with local counsel, saving Nigeria tens of billions of naira.
Doka added that all repatriated Abacha funds were disbursed strictly in line with international agreements, including the $322 million from Switzerland monitored through the National Social Investment Programme and the $321 million from Jersey channelled into major infrastructure projects.
Malami, who confirmed receiving the EFCC invitation on November 28, said he is ready to meet new bail conditions once permitted to do so. The EFCC maintains he failed to satisfy the earlier requirements and is being held in connection with several ongoing investigations.
