ABUJA, NIGERIA (Chatnewstv.com) — Former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, SAN, has forcefully refuted allegations of abuse of office and money laundering raised by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), labeling the claims related to the recovery of the $322.5 million Abacha loot as “baseless, illogical and wholly devoid of substance.”
Malami’s statement, released Sunday, follows his invitation by the EFCC on November 28, 2025, where the agency reportedly questioned an alleged duplication in the recovery of the funds. The money, which initially stood at $310 million, had risen to $322.5 million with accrued interest.
The EFCC’s inquiry, Malami said, was based on the premise that the recovery had been completed by a Swiss lawyer, Mr. Enrico Monfrini, before Malami assumed office in 2015. Malami is alleged to have duplicated the process to introduce new lawyers and receive kickbacks.
“My response is clear and unequivocal: these allegations are baseless, illogical and wholly devoid of substance,” Malami declared.
The Argument of ‘Duplication’
Malami dismantled the EFCC’s core claim by referencing a fundamental legal standard for asset recovery.
“It is trite to state from the onset that Recovery of illicit funds can legally be said to have been completed upon the actual lodgement of recovered funds into the Federation Account,” Malami stated. “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 pointed to a key factual contradiction: Mr. Monfrini himself applied in December 2016 to be engaged for the recovery of the same funds.
“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 asserted.
Cost-Saving Measure Defended
Malami strongly defended his decision to hire a Nigerian law firm instead of retaining Mr. Monfrini. He noted that the Swiss lawyer had initially demanded a $5 million upfront deposit and a 40% success fee, which was later unilaterally reduced to 20%.
The Buhari administration’s policy, Malami said, rejected “on account” deposits and capped success fees at 5% of recovered assets.
“Consequently, [a] Nigerian Law firm was engaged on a transparent, all-inclusive 5 percent success fee basis, with no advance on account deposit,” the statement read.
Malami quantified the savings to the Nigerian state, noting that the 5% fee saved the government between 15% and 35% compared to Monfrini’s demands.
“At an average exchange rate of ₦1,600 to the dollar, a 15 percent saving on $320 million amounts to approximately ₦76.8 billion,” he said. “These are concrete, measurable benefits to the Nigerian state.”
Malami emphasized that his decision was an exercise of his “constitutional discretion… strictly in the public interest and in the interest of justice,” and that the process was both transparent and cost-saving.
The former Attorney General concluded by assuring his supporters that he remains confident that “truth, law and reason will ultimately prevail” against what he suggested was a “political witch-hunt and intimidation.”
