…Malami emphasised that his engagement with the EFCC had no connection to allegations of terrorism financing, money laundering, or the ownership of multiple bank accounts.
ABUJA, NIGERIA- The iNews Times | Malami Abubakar, SAN, Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, has maintained that his only interaction with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was strictly to provide clarifications on an alleged duplication in the recovery of Abacha loot.
Malami emphasised that his engagement with the EFCC had no connection to allegations of terrorism financing, money laundering, or the ownership of multiple bank accounts.
In a statement issued by his media office on Wednesday, the former AGF dismissed the circulating claims as “false, misleading and baseless,” stressing that no security, intelligence, or law-enforcement agency in Nigeria or abroad had ever accused, investigated, or questioned him over terrorism financing or running multiple bank accounts.
He explained that the EFCC only invited him to clarify issues relating to the $310 million Abacha loot recovered under the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
“My engagement with the EFCC was strictly limited to addressing concerns about an alleged duplication of the recovery process. That was the only issue they sought clarification on,” he said.
According to Malami, the EFCC examined two possible assumptions, abuse of office and money laundering, but dropped both after he provided detailed explanations.
He said he demonstrated that no duplication occurred because the funds had not been lodged into the Federation Account before 2016, adding that the recovery process had not been completed at that time.
He further referenced Swiss lawyer Enrico Monfrini’s 2016 request for re-engagement as evidence that earlier recovery efforts were still outstanding. Malami said the Buhari administration rejected Monfrini’s demand for a $5 million upfront fee and a success fee of up to 40 per cent, opting instead to engage Nigerian lawyers at a capped rate of 5 per cent, saving the country billions.
The senior advocate noted that different tranches of Abacha loot were recovered at separate periods. He explained that the $322.5 million repatriated from Switzerland between 2017 and 2018 was deployed to the National Social Investment Programme under World Bank supervision, while the $321 million returned from Jersey in 2020 funded major infrastructure projects, including the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway, Abuja–Kano Road, and the Second Niger Bridge.
Malami argued that efforts to conflate these separate recoveries or present them as duplication were deliberately misleading.
“Efforts to twist the facts and present the recoveries as duplication are nothing but deliberate mischief,” he said.
He also addressed reports citing a retired military officer who had been linked to accusations of terrorism financing. Malami noted that the officer had publicly clarified that he never accused him of funding terrorism, though the clarification was overshadowed by sensational reporting.
Reaffirming his contributions to strengthening Nigeria’s anti-corruption and anti-terrorism financing framework, Malami highlighted his role in establishing the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit and advancing the 2022 AML/CFT laws that facilitated Nigeria’s exit from the FATF grey list.
He urged Nigerians to disregard what he described as a coordinated smear campaign, expressing confidence that the truth would ultimately prevail over political witch-hunt and misinformation.
Meanwhile, earlier report had it that the EFCC had detained Malami after he failed to meet the bail conditions previously granted to him. A senior EFCC official confirmed on Tuesday that the former minister would remain in custody until he complies with the requirements.
“We arrested him for not meeting his bail conditions, and he will remain in our custody until he meets those conditions,” the official said.
Another EFCC source also confirmed his detention, stating that Malami is being investigated for 18 different offences, including money laundering, abuse of office, and terrorism financing.
“We cannot put a figure to the amount involved now because we keep uncovering some of the deals as we investigate,” the source said.
