Eshioromeh Sebastian in Abuja
A web of major government financial dealings, from state refunds and recovered dictator loot to a flagship agricultural scheme, has been linked to the vast wealth accumulated by Abubakar Malami, Nigeria’s former attorney-general, according to an investigation.
Malami, who served under ex-President Muhammadu Buhari from 2015 to 2023, is currently in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He faces imminent arraignment at the Federal High Court in Abuja, with properties valued at over N200 billion reportedly traced to him and his associates.
He has denied all allegations through his media team, labelling the case as political persecution and vowing to defend himself in court.
At the heart of the inquiry are three primary streams of public funds investigators allege were funnelled to benefit the former minister, according to a report released by The Cable on Monday.
The first centres on the controversial Paris Club refunds to states. After Nigeria paid off its Paris Club debts in 2005 from the federal purse, states were due refunds as most of the debt was incurred by the federal government.
Consultants were hired to calculate these sums, accruing fees exceeding $418 million. Malami, as the government’s chief legal officer, insisted these fees be deducted directly from state allocations, sparking a fierce public dispute with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum. The governors accused him of pursuing “selfish interest” and acting for the consultants.
Despite their objections, President Buhari eventually approved the payments. EFCC sources now allege that a significant portion of Malami’s sudden wealth originated from kickbacks related to this deal.
The second stream involves the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, a multi-billion-naira initiative designed to boost local food production. Investigators discovered that a N4 billion loan under this scheme was secured using the name of one of Malami’s wives, Hajiya Bashir Asabe. The funds, meant for agricultural inputs, were never repaid.
The case has drawn attention to the over N600 billion in unrecovered loans from the programme, fuelling suspicions that it served as a slush fund for well-connected individuals. Malami’s wife has since been charged alongside him.
The third stream traces back to the repatriation of $321 million looted by former military dictator Sani Abacha. The recovery process for these funds, frozen in Switzerland since 2013, was nearly complete when Malami took office. All necessary professional fees had already been paid to foreign lawyers engaged by the previous administration.
However, in a move described by investigators as suspicious, Malami in 2017 engaged two Nigerian lawyers to duplicate the completed work, authorising a fresh commission of $16.9 million to be paid from the recovered loot. These lawyers, Oladipo Okpeseyi and Temitope Isaac Adebayo, have been detained by the EFCC and are said to have made “useful statements.” Financial trails allegedly show subsequent payments from this fee were traced to Malami.
Together, these three channels—state refunds, recovered Abacha loot, and a central bank loan programme—form the pillars upon which Malami’s alleged N200 billion empire was built, painting a picture of a systemic conversion of diverse public funds into private fortune during his tenure.
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