Abacha Loot Clarification, Not Terror Probe: Malami Disputes Scope of EFCC Interview Amid Detention Over Bail Conditions.
Abubakar Malami, SAN, the former Attorney-General of the Federation, has dismissed circulating allegations of his involvement in terrorism financing, money laundering, and operating multiple bank accounts as “false, misleading and baseless.” In a statement from his media office on Wednesday, Malami maintained that his only interaction with the EFCC was an invitation to clarify issues related to the $310 million Abacha loot recovery under the Buhari administration, specifically regarding an alleged duplication. He firmly insisted that no law-enforcement agency, either local or international, has ever investigated or questioned him on the more serious allegations of terrorism financing or holding multiple bank accounts.
Malami reiterated the precise reason for his EFCC engagement: “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.” Malami explained that the EFCC had reviewed two assumptions—alleged abuse of office and alleged money laundering—but dropped the matters after he provided detailed explanations. He stressed his comprehensive demonstration to the EFCC that “no duplication occurred because the funds were not lodged into the Federation Account before 2016. There was no completed recovery at the time.”
Malami further substantiated his claim by pointing to Swiss lawyer Enrico Monfrini’s 2016 request for re-engagement as proof that the earlier recovery process was incomplete. He revealed that the Buhari administration rejected Monfrini’s proposal, which included a $5 million upfront fee and a success fee of up to 40 per cent, opting instead for Nigerian lawyers at a capped 5 per cent cost. The Senior Advocate claimed this decision saved the country billions of naira, noting that different tranches of the Abacha loot were recovered at separate times. He detailed the usage: the $322.5 million repatriated from Switzerland (2017–2018) funded the National Social Investment Programme under World Bank monitoring, while the $321 million returned from Jersey (2020) was used for major infrastructure projects like the Second Niger Bridge and the Lagos–Ibadan and Abuja–Kano Expressways. Malami concluded that attempts to conflate these separate recoveries or portray them as duplicated were “deliberately misleading.”
Malami concluded his defense against the duplication claim by asserting that efforts to “twist the facts and present the recoveries as duplication are nothing but deliberate mischief.” He then moved to address other allegations, specifically mentioning reports that cited a retired military officer who had purportedly accused him of terrorism financing.
The former minister claimed the retired military officer who purportedly accused him of terrorism financing “publicly clarified that he never accused me of funding terrorism,” but that this clarification was “overshadowed by sensational reporting.” Reiterating his dedication to anti-corruption efforts, Malami maintained that he played a central role in establishing the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and pushing for the 2022 AML/CFT laws that helped Nigeria exit the FATF grey list. He urged Nigerians to disregard what his office called a coordinated smear campaign, stating: “I remain confident that truth will prevail over political witch-hunt, misinformation and intimidation.”
However, a senior EFCC official confirmed a related development on Tuesday, stating that Malami was in custody for a separate reason: “We arrested him for not meeting his bail conditions, and he will remain in our custody until he meets those conditions.”
Another EFCC source confirmed Malami’s detention, clarifying that he is being investigated for multiple offenses. The source stated, “He is presently in our custody. He was initially granted bail but did not meet the conditions.” The official revealed the extensive nature of the inquiry: “The offences against him are many. Presently, we are investigating him for 18 different offences. Some of them are money laundering, abuse of office and terrorism financing.” The source added that they could not yet specify the total amount involved, as they “keep uncovering some of the deals as we investigate.”
