NIGERIA: Malami Denies EFCC Allegations Over $322.5m Abacha Loot, Calls Claims “Baseless And Illogical”

By Onoja Baba, Nigeria 

Former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami SAN, has strongly rejected allegations of abuse of office and money laundering raised by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in connection with the recovery of $322.5 million Abacha loot from Switzerland.

In a detailed statement released Sunday through his media aide, Mohammed Bello Doka, Malami described the EFCC’s claim that he duplicated an already completed recovery process as “baseless, illogical and wholly devoid of substance.”

The former AGF explained that when the Buhari administration took office in 2015, no part of the $310 million (which grew to $322.5 million with interest) had been repatriated into the Federation Account, meaning there was no completed recovery to duplicate.

He revealed that in December 2016, Swiss lawyer Enrico Monfrini — whom the EFCC claims had already recovered the funds — applied to be engaged for the same recovery, demanding an upfront $5 million deposit and a 20–40% success fee. Those terms were rejected under the Buhari administration’s policy of no advance payments and a maximum 5% success fee.

Malami stated that engaging a Nigerian law firm on a transparent 5% all-inclusive fee saved Nigeria between 15% and 35% of the recovered sum equivalent to between ₦76.8 billion and ₦179.2 billion at current exchange rates.

He clarified that the $322.5 million repatriated in 2017–2018 was deployed through the National Social Investment Programme for conditional cash transfers to the poorest Nigerians, with World Bank and civil society oversight.

Malami also distinguished this tranche from another $321 million recovered in 2020 from Jersey, which was earmarked for the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway, Abuja–Kano Road, and Second Niger Bridge.

Dismissing the allegations as a “political witch-hunt,” Malami expressed confidence that “truth, law and reason will ultimately prevail” and thanked supporters for their solidarity.

The EFCC invited Malami for questioning on 28 November 2025. The commission is yet to issue an official response to his statement.