Malami Faults EFCC, Says Abacha Loot Probe ‘Baseless, Illogical’

Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has rejected allegations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that he duplicated the recovery of the $310m Abacha loot—later paid as $322.5m with interest—describing the claims as “baseless, illogical and wholly devoid of substance.”

In a statement issued on Sunday by his media aide, Mohammed Doka, Malami confirmed that he honoured the EFCC’s invitation on November 28, 2025, over alleged abuse of office and money laundering.

According to him, both allegations “collapsed when subjected to factual scrutiny.”

It was reported on November 29 that Malami said his engagement with the anti-graft agency was “successful.”

Malami said the EFCC’s claim that he duplicated a recovery process allegedly completed by Swiss lawyer, Mr. Enrico Monfrini, before he assumed office, was fundamentally flawed.

“This allegation collapses immediately when subjected to facts and elementary logic,” he said.

He maintained that no recovery could be deemed complete without lodgement into the Federation Account, insisting that as of 2016, no such remittance had been made.

“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 stated.

Malami further disclosed that Monfrini himself applied in December 2016 to be re-engaged for the same recovery—a development he described as a direct contradiction of the EFCC’s position.

“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 added.

According to the former AGF, Monfrini demanded a $5m upfront deposit and a 40% success fee, later reduced to 20 per cent—terms rejected by the Buhari administration.

Instead, he said, a Nigerian law firm was hired on a 5% success-fee arrangement, saving the country between 15% and 35% of the recovered funds. He put the savings at ₦76.8bn to ₦179.2bn.

“These are concrete, measurable benefits to the Nigerian state,” he said.

Malami clarified that he oversaw separate and distinct tranches of the Abacha loot: $322.5m from Switzerland (2017–2018), deployed to Conditional Cash Transfers under a World Bank-monitored transparency framework.

About $321m from Jersey (2020) — allocated to key infrastructure projects, including 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 maintained.

He stressed that the constitutional powers of the Attorney-General 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,” Malami stated.

Malami appreciated supporters who stood by him, describing the EFCC 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,” he said.

He concluded with confidence that the investigation would vindicate him.

“The allegations remain baseless, illogical and entirely devoid of substance. I remain confident that truth, law and reason will ultimately prevail,” he declared.