Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has strongly refuted allegations made by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) concerning the recovery of funds looted by the late General Sani Abacha.
Malami Labels EFCC Claims as Illogical and Baseless
In a statement released by his media aide, Mohammed Doka, Malami described the EFCC's accusations as devoid of substance and illogical. The anti-graft agency had alleged that Malami duplicated a recovery process for $310 million in Abacha loot, which later grew to $322.5 million with accrued interest.
Malami insisted that these claims cannot withstand factual scrutiny. He clarified that the EFCC's narrative suggested he duplicated a process supposedly completed by a Swiss lawyer, Enrico Monfrini, before Malami assumed office in 2015. The former minister countered this by stating that a recovery is only final when funds are deposited into the Federation Account, and no such lodgement existed as of 2016.
"As at 2016, there was no lodgement of any such funds into the Federation Account. There was therefore no completed recovery in existence, and nothing whatsoever to duplicate," Malami asserted.
Re-engagement Request Exposes Contradiction, Says Malami
Malami presented a key piece of evidence to challenge the EFCC's position. He revealed that Enrico Monfrini himself applied in December 2016 to be re-engaged for the same recovery effort. Malami argued that this action fundamentally undermines the commission's story.
"It is entirely illogical for a lawyer to apply in December 2016 to be engaged to recover funds he purportedly recovered two years earlier. That singular fact exposes the internal contradiction and absurdity of the EFCC’s narrative," he stated.
He further detailed that Monfrini's proposed terms included a $5 million upfront deposit and a success fee of 40%, later reduced to 20%. The Buhari administration rejected these terms. Instead, a Nigerian law firm was engaged on a 5% success-fee arrangement. Malami emphasized that this decision saved Nigeria between ₦76.8 billion and ₦179.2 billion.
Detailing the Recoveries and Dismissing the Probe
The former justice minister outlined the distinct tranches of Abacha loot recovered under his oversight:
- $322.5 million from Switzerland (2017-2018): Used for Conditional Cash Transfers under World Bank monitoring.
- About $321 million from Jersey (2020): Allocated to infrastructure projects like the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway, Abuja–Kano Road, and the Second Niger Bridge.
Malami maintained that conflating these separate recoveries or portraying a lawful, cost-saving process as duplication is misleading. He stressed that all his actions were within his constitutional powers as Attorney-General and executed in the public interest. He denied any abuse of office or money laundering, stating such claims lack a reasonable basis.
Malami characterized the EFCC investigation as a political witch-hunt and thanked his supporters for their solidarity. He confirmed he honoured an EFCC invitation on November 28, 2025, describing the interaction as fruitful and expressing confidence that the process would vindicate him.
