Malami Dismisses EFCC Allegations As Baseless, Illogical
Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has rejected the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s accusation that he duplicated the recovery of the $310 million Abacha loot, later amounting to $322.5 million with interest, calling the allegation “baseless, illogical and wholly devoid of substance.”
In a statement issued on Sunday and signed by his media aide, Mohammed Doka, Malami confirmed that he honoured an EFCC invitation on 28 November 2025 over alleged abuse of office and money laundering linked to the recovery effort.
He said both allegations fell apart when examined against the facts.
OSUN DEFENDER had reported on November 29 that Malami described his engagement with the EFCC as successful.
“The EFCC’s position is that I duplicated a recovery process allegedly completed by a Swiss lawyer, Mr. Enrico Monfrini, before I assumed office. This allegation collapses immediately when subjected to facts and elementary logic,” Malami said.
He maintained that no recovery was completed before he assumed office in 2015, noting that a recovery can only be regarded as complete when the funds are lodged into the Federation Account.
“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.
He added that Monfrini himself applied in December 2016 to be re-engaged for the same recovery, evidence, he argued, that nothing had been completed earlier.
“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,” Malami stated.
Malami further said Monfrini demanded a $5 million upfront deposit and a 40 per cent success fee, later reduced to 20 per cent, terms the Buhari administration rejected.
Instead, a Nigerian law firm was engaged on a 5 per cent success-fee basis, which he noted saved the country between 15 and 35 per cent of the recovered sum, amounting to between ₦76.8 billion and ₦179.2 billion.
“These are concrete, measurable benefits to the Nigerian state,” he said.
He also outlined the separate tranches of Abacha loot he supervised.
$322.5 million from Switzerland between 2017 and 2018, which was deployed to Conditional Cash Transfers under World Bank-supervised transparency mechanisms.
About $321 million from Jersey in 2020, earmarked for major infrastructure projects such as the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway, Abuja–Kano Road, and the Second Niger Bridge.
“Any attempt to conflate these distinct recoveries or to portray a lawful, cost-saving recovery process as duplication is misleading,” he added.
Malami insisted his constitutional powers in asset recovery were exercised strictly in the public interest.
“In the circumstances of this case, that discretion was exercised transparently and responsibly. Any claim suggesting abuse of office or money laundering is not rooted in any reasonable ground for suspicion,” he said.
He thanked supporters nationwide and described the probe as politically motivated.
“Together we shall continue to stand firm, and together we shall triumph against every form of political witch-hunt and intimidation.
“The allegations remain baseless, illogical and entirely devoid of substance. I remain confident that truth, law and reason will ultimately prevail,” he concluded.
Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.
