December 10, (THEWILL) — Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has firmly dismissed recent media reports linking him to terrorism financing and the operation of 46 bank accounts, describing the claims as “false, misleading, and baseless.”
In a statement on Wednesday, his spokesperson, Mohammed Bello Doka, urged Nigerians to disregard what he called a coordinated media campaign aimed at damaging Malami’s reputation. He stressed that neither the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) nor any other local or international agency has accused, investigated, or charged Malami with terrorism financing.
Doka noted that the retired military officer cited in some of the reports had publicly clarified that he never accused Malami of financing terrorism—an important clarification he said was overshadowed by sensational headlines.
The statement highlighted Malami’s role in strengthening Nigeria’s anti-corruption and counter-terrorism frameworks, including the establishment of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the enactment of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022—reforms credited with helping Nigeria exit the FATF grey list.
Regarding the EFCC inquiry, the statement explained that Malami was invited solely to address concerns about alleged duplication in the recovery of the $310 million Abacha loot, which was eventually repatriated with accrued interest as $322.5 million.
The EFCC reportedly raised issues bordering on alleged abuse of office and money laundering, allegations Malami’s camp described as illogical and unsupported by facts.
The statement further explained that asset recovery is only considered complete once funds are formally lodged into the Federation Account, a step that had not been taken in 2016.
It noted that Swiss lawyer Enrico Monfrini applied in December 2016 to be re-engaged to recover the same funds—evidence showing that no duplication occurred.
It added that the engagement of Nigerian lawyers on a five percent success-fee basis, without any advance payment, saved the country between 15 and 35 percent of potential costs, amounting to between ₦76.8 billion and ₦179.2 billion.
The statement also clarified that the Abacha loot was recovered in separate tranches: the $322.5 million from Switzerland between 2017 and 2018, which funded the National Social Investment Programme under World Bank and civil society monitoring, and a separate $321 million tranche from Jersey in 2020, which was deployed to major infrastructure projects including the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway, Abuja–Kano Road, and the Second Niger Bridge.
Any attempt to conflate both recoveries as duplication, it said, is “deliberately misleading.”
Malami urged the public to ignore what he described as concocted allegations and sensational media reporting, expressing confidence that the truth will prevail.
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