Tag: efcc

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has confirmed that former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, will face interrogation daily throughout the month of December at its headquarters in Abuja.

A credible source within the EFCC revealed to Vanguard on Monday that the daily appearance is a mandatory condition of his release and part of an intensive, ongoing investigation into the whereabouts of an alleged $490 million Abacha loot secured through a Mutual Legal Assistance (MLAT) request.

​Malami, who honored an EFCC invitation on Saturday, November 28, was barred from leaving Nigeria for the next month, as the anti-graft agency confiscated his international passport.

The EFCC source stated: ​“We seized his passport, it is the normal routine during investigation, but he has to report at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja every day for the next month.

”He will be reporting to EFCC for investigation for the period because of the volume of the investigation and the seriousness of the charges against him.”

​The source explained that the daily reporting is necessary due to the volume and complexity of the investigation and the seriousness of the charges against the former Minister.

Investigators are primarily concerned with accountability for the massive repatriated funds. A fact sheet on the former minister indicates that he has multiple issues to clarify.

The source said: “We have asked him to explain the whereabouts of the $490 million Abacha loot secured through MLAT.

“We didn’t say he stole money, but he should account for the loot. This is one of the issues he will clarify to our investigators.”

The commission cited the large volume of documents Malami must review and the need for extensive interviews as reasons for seizing his passport and demanding daily appearances.

The EFCC maintained that it would not engage in a “war of words” but would release its findings after a thorough investigation.

Malami, in a statement issued on Monday by his media aide, Mohammed Doka, in Abuja, confirmed his engagement with the EFCC but described the investigation as a “political witch-hunt.”

He confirmed he honored the EFCC invitation on November 28, describing the engagement as fruitful and expressing confidence that the probe would vindicate him.

Malami described the EFCC’s allegations as baseless, illogical, and devoid of substance, insisting they would collapse under factual scrutiny.

Former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has refuted claims by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) concerning the recovery of the $322.5 million Abacha loot, calling the allegations “baseless, illogical, and devoid of factual foundation.”

Earlier, 626Blaze reported that Malami, who was summoned by the EFCC on Friday, November 28, was later released and given fresh appointment dates for further interrogation.

The EFCC is probing alleged duplication in the recovery of the Abacha loot, alongside accusations of abuse of office and money laundering.

In a statement on Sunday, Malami said the EFCC’s inquiry was premised on the claim that a Swiss lawyer, Enrico Monfrini, had completed the recovery before he assumed office in 2015.

He argued that the allegation collapses when compared with documented facts.

According to him, the recovery of illicit funds can only be deemed completed when the money is lodged into the Federation Account. He noted that as of 2016, when the Buhari administration revisited the matter, no such lodgement had been made.

Malami added that several lawyers, including Monfrini, applied in December 2016 to be engaged for the same recovery, an action he said contradicts the idea that the process had been concluded years earlier.

He explained that Monfrini requested a $5 million upfront payment and a 40 per cent success fee, later reduced to 20 per cent, terms the government rejected in line with its policy that no advance deposits should be paid and that fees must not exceed 5 per cent.

Malami said a Nigerian law firm was eventually appointed on a 5 per cent success fee, saving the country between 15 and 35 per cent of the recovered funds, amounting to tens of billions of naira at current exchange rates.

He also clarified that the Abacha recoveries handled under his tenure came in separate tranches:

$322.5 million repatriated from Switzerland between 2017 and 2018, deployed to Conditional Cash Transfers under the National Social Investment Programme, monitored by the World Bank and civil society groups;

$321 million repatriated from Jersey in 2020, earmarked for major infrastructure projects including the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway, Abuja–Kano Road and the Second Niger Bridge.

Malami said attempts to conflate the tranches or suggest duplication do not reflect the facts.

He maintained that his actions as Attorney General were carried out “transparently and in the public interest,” insisting that the allegations against him lack any reasonable basis.

Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has stated that his session with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), following the agency’s invitation, was “successful.”

Malami, who disclosed this in a post on his X handle on Saturday, said he was released after the interaction and given an appointment for further questioning.

“In line with my undertaking to keep Nigerians updated on my invitation by EFCC, I give glory to Allah for His divine intervention.

“The engagement was successful and I am eventually released, while on an appointment for further engagement, as the truth relating to the fabricated allegations against me continues to unfold,” he wrote.

The EFCC had earlier invited the former minister over allegations linked to his time in office, though the commission has not publicly disclosed details of the issues under investigation.

Malami previously announced that he would honour the invitation, saying it aligned with his commitment to accountability and transparency.