Malami Rejects EFCC Claims As Probe Widens

Former Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami has pushed back against allegations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, insisting he did not duplicate the recovery of the Abacha loot.

His response came in a statement issued on Sunday after he appeared before EFCC investigators on November 28 over accusations of abuse of office and money laundering.

Malami said the EFCC’s case fell apart once the facts were examined. He argued that no recovery had been completed before he took office in 2015, noting that funds can only be considered recovered when they are deposited into the Federation Account. He said records showed there was no such deposit as of 2016, meaning there was no process to duplicate.

He pointed to documents showing that Swiss lawyer Enrico Monfrini sought re-engagement in December 2016 to pursue the same recovery, which he argued contradicted claims that the job had already been completed. He explained that Monfrini demanded a $5 million advance and a success fee of up to 40 per cent, terms rejected by the Buhari administration. A Nigerian law firm was later engaged at a 5 per cent fee, which Malami said saved the country tens of billions of naira.

The former AGF explained that he supervised separate tranches of the Abacha loot, including $322.5 million from Switzerland channelled into conditional cash transfers and about $321 million from Jersey earmarked for key infrastructure projects. He said mixing up these recoveries created a wrong impression of duplication.

Malami maintained that all actions taken under his watch were lawful and in the public interest, insisting that the allegations lacked any factual basis. He described the situation as a political attack but expressed confidence that the investigation would clear him.

He thanked supporters across the country and said he remained certain that the matter would end in his favour.