The Pathfinder
Tuesday December 2, 2025
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Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has responded to allegations from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that he duplicated the recovery of repatriated Abacha loot, labeling the claims as “baseless, illogical and wholly devoid of substance.”
Malami, in a statement issued on Sunday by his media aide, Mohammed Doka, confirmed receiving and honouring an EFCC invitation on November 28, 2025, concerning allegations of abuse of office and money laundering. He asserted that the accusations could not withstand scrutiny.
Regarding the core allegation of duplicating a recovery finalized by Swiss lawyer Enrico Monfrini before 2015, Malami stated, “This allegation collapses immediately when subjected to facts and elementary logic.”
He clarified that a recovery is only complete when funds are lodged into the Federation Account, which had not occurred by 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,” he said.
To bolster his defense, Malami revealed that Monfrini himself applied in December 2016 to be re-engaged for the recovery. “It is entirely illogical for a lawyer to apply in December 2016 to be engaged to recover funds he purportedly recovered two years earlier,” he argued. “That singular fact exposes the internal contradiction and absurdity of the EFCC’s narrative.”
He detailed that Monfrini’s proposed terms, a $5 million deposit and a 40% success fee, were rejected. Instead, a Nigerian firm was engaged at a 5% fee, which Malami said “saved the country between 15 and 35 per cent of the recovered funds,” amounting to significant savings for the state. “These are concrete, measurable benefits to the Nigerian state,” he added.
Malami further distinguished between separate tranches of recovered Abacha loot he oversaw, including $322.5 million from Switzerland and about $321 million from Jersey, allocated to specific social and infrastructure projects. “Any attempt to conflate these distinct recoveries or to portray a lawful, cost-saving recovery process as duplication is misleading,” he stated.
He maintained that his actions were within his constitutional powers and exercised “strictly in the public interest.” “In the circumstances of this case, that discretion was exercised transparently and responsibly,” Malami said. “Any claim suggesting abuse of office or money laundering is not rooted in any reasonable ground for suspicion.”
Characterizing the probe as a “political witch-hunt,” he expressed gratitude to his supporters, declaring, “Together we shall continue to stand firm, and together we shall triumph against every form of political witch-hunt and intimidation.”
He concluded with confidence in his vindication, reiterating, “The allegations remain baseless, illogical and entirely devoid of substance. I remain confident that truth, law and reason will ultimately prevail.”
… As EFCC seizes passport over Abacha $490m loot probe
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had seized the international passport of former Attorney‑General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN.
A credible source in the EFCC said on Sunday that the seizure was part of an ongoing investigation into the whereabouts of an alleged $490 million Abacha loot secured through a Mutual Legal Assistance (MLAT) request.
The source said that Malami was barred from leaving Nigeria for the next month.
According to the source one of the conditions for his release on Saturday was that he should report daily to the EFCC headquarters in Abuja for further interrogations.
”The former minister may not travel out of the country except with mutual agreement with the EFCC or a High Court order.”
Malami, had however, described the allegations as fabricated and said the truth would soon unfold.
According to the source, a fact‑sheet on the former minister, revealed that Malami had several issues to clarify with the EFCC within the coming weeks.
“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 huge volume of documents he must go through and the need for extensive interviews as reasons for seizing his passport.
The source said EFCC would not engage in a war of words but would release its findings after a thorough investigation.
In a post on X, Malami called the allegations fabricated, thanked Allah for divine intervention.
He said the engagement with the EFCC was successful and that he was released pending further meetings.
He remained silent on the passport seizure but reiterated that the truth about the fabricated claims would unfold.
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