Why EFCC Has Not Released Me, Malami Speaks from Detention
- Malami has been detained by the EFCC after voluntarily reporting, following the revocation of his earlier administrative bail
- He rejected claims of terrorism financing and controlling 46 bank accounts, describing them as false, misleading, and baseless
- Malami negotiated legal fees in the Abacha loot recovery, reportedly saving Nigeria billions of naira, while recovered funds were deployed to major infrastructure projects
Abubakar Malami, former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, has spoken out about his continued detention by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) following his voluntary appearance at the agency on Monday.
The ex-minister is reportedly under investigation for several matters, including the alleged financing of terrorism, ownership of 46 bank accounts, multiple legal representations in the recovery of the $322.5 million Abacha loot, and the use of funds under the conditional cash transfer programme, Daily Trust reported.
Source: Facebook
New bail conditions await approval
Malami stated that he was detained without a clear explanation beyond being told that his previous administrative bail had been revoked, despite adhering to all its conditions.
His special assistant on media, Mohammed Bello Doka, confirmed in a Wednesday statement that Malami has been presented with new bail conditions and is ready to comply once authorised by the EFCC.
Malami has consistently rejected allegations of terrorism financing and controlling 46 bank accounts, describing them as “false, misleading and baseless.”
Doka clarified that Malami has not faced questioning related to these claims and emphasized that even sources cited in media reports have explicitly denied accusing him of such acts.
Source: Twitter
Doka highlighted Malami’s tenure as Attorney-General, noting his contributions to Nigeria’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing structures.
Under his leadership, the country established an independent National Financial Intelligence Unit and enacted the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, as well as the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
These reforms helped Nigeria exit the FATF grey list.
Malami clarifies Abacha loot recovery claims
Addressing claims of duplicated legal representation, Doka said the Buhari administration rejected Swiss lawyer Enrico Monfrini’s initial terms, which included a $5 million upfront payment and a success fee of up to 40 percent.
Malami later negotiated a 5 percent all-inclusive fee with local lawyers, reportedly saving Nigeria between N76.8 billion and N179.2 billion.
Recovered Abacha funds were repatriated in tranches and deployed according to agreements with international partners.
Funds from Switzerland in 2017–2018 were disbursed through the National Social Investment Programme, while the $321 million repatriated from Jersey in 2020 was allocated to infrastructure projects, including the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway, Abuja–Kano Road, and the Second Niger Bridge.
Malami had confirmed on November 28 that he received the EFCC invitation and pledged to comply as “a law-abiding and patriotic citizen.”
The EFCC maintains that his bail was revoked due to unmet conditions and that his detention relates to ongoing investigations.
EFCC summons former AGF Abubakar Malami
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had invited former Attorney General of the Federation Abubakar Malami for an interview at its Abuja headquarters.
The invitation was issued in a letter dated November 24 and signed by Sunday Atiba Ofen Imu on behalf of EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede.
Source: Legit.ng
