Former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, on Wednesday, raised the alarm over the raids on his homes and offices by the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He said the anti-graft agency, which has detained him since 8 December over investigations into corruption allegations against him, carried out the raids on his premises in Abuja and Kebbi in Kebbi State, his home state, on Wednesday.
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EFCC confirmed the raids to PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday but called the actions a search necessary for its ongoing investigation of the former minister.
Mr Malami, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), disclosed the raids in a statement by his media aide, Mohammed Doka, which was shared on the former minister’s Facebook page.
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The statement suggested that the raids were triggered by an earlier press release on Wednesday. The said earlier statement referenced the Justice Ayo Salami Judicial Commission of Inquiry’s report, which Mr Malami claimed indicted the EFCC chair, Ola Olukoyede, for his activities as the secretary to the EFCC from 2018 to 2020.
Mr Malami specifically alluded to Chapter 9 of the report which he said focused on Mr Olukoyede.
The later statement on Wednesday said, following the disclosure in the earlier press release, EFCC operatives “carried out coordinated raids on our offices and on the private residences of Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, in Abuja and Kebbi State.”
“These actions (were carried out without prior notice and were expressly directed at searching for documents allegedly connected to Chapter 9 of the Salami Report,” the statement added.
The former AGF did not provide proof that the raids were triggered by his earlier statement referencing the Justice Ayo Salami report.
The panel of inquiry led by Mr Salami, a former President of the Court of Appeal, submitted its report to the then-President Muhammadu Buhari in November 2020.
But both Mr Buhari and Mr Malami, who as the AGF facilitated the establishment of the panel to probe the activities of the EFCC under the leadership of the then-acting chairperson of the anti-graft agency, Ibrahim Magu, failed to make the report of the panel public.
They also failed to act on the recommendations of the panel before their administration wound up two and a half years later, in May 2023.
Meanwhile, preparatory to the hearing of the panel, Mr Buhari had suspended Mr Magu and Mr Olukoyede alongside some other top officials of the EFCC from office in July 2020. The panel controversially went on to conduct its hearing in camera. The EFCC officials were never recalled by the Buhari administration while the public was kept in the dark regarding the outcome of the panel’s inquiry.
Malami blames Olukoyede
Citing his role in the establishment of the Salami panel, Mr Malami, on Monday, called on Mr Olukoyede to step aside from his probe by the EFCC. He claimed his probe, arrest and detention by the EFCC were “driven by deep-seated historical animosity and a malicious personal vendetta orchestrated by the EFCC Chairman”.
Earlier on Wednesday, he issued another statement referencing Chapter 9 of the Salami panel’s report and intensifying his call for Mr Olukoyede to recuse himself from his probe.
“Viewed against this background, the present actions of the EFCC cannot reasonably be interpreted as neutral law enforcement. They amount to retaliatory persecution driven by historical animosity and personal vendetta,” the statement by his media aide read.
In a later statement on Wednesday announcing the raids on his premises in Abuja and Kebbi, Mr Malami described the actions as “deeply alarming”.
He said the raids were acts of intimidation and retaliation following his public call for the EFCC chairman to recuse himself from matters relating to investigations involving him.
“These raids raise grave concerns about intimidation, retaliation and the safety of our staff and of Abubakar Malami, SAN,” the statement said.
The statement warned that it would hold the authorities responsible should any harm come to him or members of his staff, describing the situation as a threat to the rule of law and constitutional governance.
He also urged Nigerians and the media to question the timing and legality of the searches, asking why the raids occurred immediately after public reference to Chapter 9 of the Salami report and what legal authority justified searches focused on that section of the report.
Mr Malami further called on civil society organisations, professional bodies and human rights groups to pressure the Federal Government, the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation to release the Salami Judicial Commission of Inquiry report, particularly Chapter 9, in the interest of transparency and accountability.
Despite the allegations, the former attorney general said he remained willing to submit himself to a lawful and impartial judicial process.
“Intimidation, raids and media trials cannot substitute for due process,” the statement added.
EFCC confirms raid
The EFCC, however, said the operation was part of its ongoing investigation and not a raid.
“It is in furtherance of our ongoing investigation. It was not a raid; it was a search. When a suspect is being investigated, we normally conduct searches in line with our investigation,” the commission’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, said during a phone interview with PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday.
The raid allegation comes amid an ongoing dispute between Mr Malami and the leadership of the anti-graft agency over the handling of investigations involving the former minister.
Olukoyede, EFCC deny wrongdoing
Mr Olukoyede has previously denied allegations levelled against him by the Salami panel.
Speaking to journalists in Lagos in July during a meeting with media representatives, the EFCC chairman said he was unjustly suspended as the commission’s secretary over what he described as false corruption allegations.
He said he was later vindicated and reinstated after a review by the administration of President Bola Tinubu found no wrongdoing on his part.
“I did not steal anything,” Mr Olukoyede said.
The EFCC has also denied allegations of bias and unlawful conduct raised by Mr Malami in the wake of his probe by the commission.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the commission’s spokesperson, Mr Oyewale, dismissed claims that Mr Malami’s bail was revoked because he attended a political gathering in Kebbi State, describing the allegation as “patently false.”
Mr Oyewale said Mr Malami was granted administrative bail on 28 November after interrogation, pending the conclusion of investigations and possible arraignment.
“Administrative bail is a discretionary temporary reprieve that allows a suspect to be released on stated conditions pending the conclusion of investigation and arraignment in court,” he said.
According to the EFCC, the former minister failed to meet the conditions attached to the bail and did not return on the agreed date of 1 December.
The commission said it later granted his request for a deferment on health grounds but that he neither submitted a medical report nor provided credible evidence to support the claim.
Mr Oyewale said Mr Malami was re-invited on 8 December for further questioning and detained after failing to meet the outstanding bail requirements, adding that it was wrong to suggest that the EFCC restricted him from granting media interviews or participating in political activities.
Background
Mr Malami served as Nigeria’s Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice from 2015 to 2023 under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
A founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), he recently defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and has declared his intention to contest the 2027 governorship election in Kebbi State.
The EFCC is investigating Mr Malami over allegations including the alleged fraudulent duplication of expenses related to the recovery of assets linked to the late former military ruler, Sani Abacha.
Reports have also indicated that the commission is probing several bank accounts allegedly linked to the former minister, as well as his multi-billion-naira investments in Kebbi State.
Following his detention, Mr Malami’s lawyers challenged his continued custody, describing it as unlawful and a violation of his fundamental rights, a development that has drawn political reactions from opposition figures accusing the EFCC of politicising its actions.
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