.EFCC holds Malami’s passport as investigation deepens
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has seized the international passport of former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, as part of an ongoing investigation into the management of millions of dollars recovered from the Abacha loot.
Malami, who was interrogated for several hours on Friday, was released on bail around 1:00 a.m. on Saturday. His bail conditions require him to report to the EFCC headquarters in Abuja every day for the next 30 days.
The anti-graft agency has also placed a temporary travel restriction on him, barring him from leaving the country unless expressly authorised by the EFCC or the Federal High Court.
Insiders within the commission said Malami had several issues to clarify with regard to the utilisation of the $490 million repatriated to Nigeria under a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT).
The officials explained that the volume of documents involved and the intensity of the review process necessitated the seizure of his passport.
The EFCC also dismissed Malami’s recent public remarks as ‘mere braggadocio,’ saying the commission would disclose its findings after “a thorough, painstaking investigation.”
After his visit to the EFCC, he wrote on his X on Saturday, “In line with my undertaking to keep Nigerians updated on my invitation by EFCC, I give glory to Allah for his divine intervention. The engagement was successful and I am eventually released while on an appointment for further engagement as the truth relating to the fabricated allegations against me continue to unfold.”
Timeline of Abacha loot
Since the death of the maximum dictator, Gen Sani Abacha in 1998, at least $5.56 billion has been recovered from various jurisdictions, notably Switzerland, the United States, and the United Kingdom. This means these nations allowed the Nigerian leader to warehouse stolen public funds and waited for him to die before returning them – after the money had yielded interests.
Economy Post‘s computed how much Nigeria has received from these nations since 1998 when Gen Abacha died. Under the Muhammadu Buhari, which Mr Malami served, at least $1.037.5 bilion was recovered, going by public records seen by the reporter. Under President Obasanjo, a humongous $3.8 billion was repatriated to Nigeria from Switzerland, and Bailiwick of the United Kingdom.
Under the government of President Goodluck Jonathan, $227 million was returned in 2014 by Liechtenstein.
Issues around transparency
Transparency has been a major problem sorrounding the Abacha loot. No government since 1999 has provided details of how the loot was spent and distributed. A July 2023 judgement by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja ordered the Nigerian government to disclose the details of the $5 billion loot recovered from late Sani Abacha, but this was not effected.
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In Punch’s editorial of July 25, 2023, the issue of Abacha loot came to the front burner. According to the newspaper, “Democracy is hollow where there is no accountability. This is the Nigerian experience. For more than 25 years, successive governments and presidents – Olusegun Obasanjo, the late Umaru Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan, and Muhammadu Buhari – all received various cash refunds from the money stolen by Abacha and stashed in various foreign destinations.”
Punch noted that none accounted fully for the refunds, or explained how they were spent. “Indeed, in an incisive report, The Economist of London said monies looted from Nigeria by its public officers and refunded to its government were often “re-looted.”
The newspaper further wrote, “This is a travesty. Democracy, asserts liberal democrats, is anchored on representation, participation, free elections, fundamental rights, and the rule of law. Additionally, says the OECD, “openness and transparency are key ingredients to build accountability and trust, which are necessary for the functioning of democracies and market economies.”
Transparency International and SERAP put the total recovered Abacha loot at $5.12 billion.
