Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has described as unfounded and illogical allegations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over the recovery of the $322.5 million Abacha loot.
In a statement by his media aide, Mohammed Doka, Malami said his invitation by the EFCC on November 28, 2025, centred on claims of abuse of office and money laundering linked to an alleged duplication of the recovery process.
Malami said the premise of the investigation—that the funds had been recovered before his assumption of office in 2015 by Swiss lawyer, Enrico Monfrini—collapsed under scrutiny.
He insisted that no Abacha loot recovery can be deemed complete until the funds are lodged into the Federation Account, a condition he said had not been met as of 2016 when the Buhari administration reopened the process.
According to him, the EFCC’s narrative became even more untenable because Mr. Monfrini himself applied in December 2016 to be re-engaged for the same recovery, demanding a $5 million upfront deposit and a success fee initially pegged at 40 per cent before later reducing it to 20 per cent.
Malami said the Buhari administration rejected those terms in line with its policy of paying no upfront deposits and limiting success fees to a maximum of 5 per cent. He said this informed the choice of a Nigerian law firm engaged at an all-inclusive 5 per cent success fee.
“By this single decision, Nigeria was saved between 15 per cent and 35 per cent of the recovered sum,” Malami said, estimating the savings at between N76.8 billion and N179.2 billion when calculated at an exchange rate of N1,600 per dollar.
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He maintained that the facts clearly showed that no duplication occurred, insisting that the recovery undertaken under his leadership was lawful, transparent and cost-saving.
Malami also clarified that the EFCC was attempting to conflate two separate Abacha loot recoveries handled during his tenure.
The first, the $322.5 million repatriated from Switzerland between 2017 and 2018, was deployed through the National Social Investment Programme for Conditional Cash Transfers to the poorest Nigerians, under World Bank and civil society monitoring.
The second, the $321 million repatriated from the Island of Jersey in 2020, was designated for major national infrastructure projects such as the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway, Abuja–Kano Road and the Second Niger Bridge.
“Any attempt to portray a lawful, cost-saving recovery process as a duplication is misleading,” he said.
Malami declared that the allegations of money laundering and abuse of office were neither supported by evidence nor compatible with basic logic.
“I remain confident that truth, law and reason will ultimately prevail,” he stated, expressing appreciation to his supporters, political associates and family for what he described as unwavering confidence amid “political witch-hunt and intimidation.”
The statement stressed that Malami’s actions as Attorney-General were guided strictly by public interest and accountability, noting that the recoveries were transparently executed with international oversight.
