01/12/2025
For Immediate Release.
Office of the Former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami SAN.
EFCC, Abacha Loot and the Fiction of Duplication: My Response to Baseless, Illogical Allegations – By Abubakar Malami, SAN
I have assured my friends, associates and political allies that I will formally brief them on issues arising from my invitation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on the 28th of November 2025.
The EFCC informed me that its inquiry relates to an alleged duplication in the recovery of the $310 million Abacha loot, which by accrual of interest rose to about $322.5million as at the time I eventually succeeded in recovering the funds for the federal Government and, flowing from that assumption, two allegations were majorly raised, namely:
1. Abuse of office, and
2. Money laundering.
My response is clear and unequivocal: these allegations are baseless, illogical and wholly devoid of substance.
The EFCC’s position, as conveyed to me, is that upon my assumption of office as Attorney-General of the Federation in 2015, the recovery of the said funds had allegedly already been completed by a Swiss lawyer, Mr. Enrico Monfrini. On that basis, it is alleged that I merely duplicated an already concluded recovery process in order to introduce other lawyers who would, in turn, give me kickbacks.
This allegation collapses immediately when subjected to facts and elementary logic. The facts, mostly documented, were referred to in my response to the interrogatories raised by the commission.
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.
As at 2016, when the Buhari administration initiated the process relating to the said $310 million (later $322.5 million with interest), 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.
More instructive and revealing is the undisputed fact that in December 2016, several lawyers applied to be engaged for the recovery of these same funds — Mr. Monfrini himself included. 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.
In his application, Mr. Monfrini demanded for upfront on account deposit of $5 million and a success fee of 40percent of the recovered sum, which reconsideration was unilaterally reduced to 20% upon realizing the impossibility of the 40% demand flying. These terms were rightly rejected in line with the clear policy of the Buhari administration that no “on account”deposits would be paid to recovery agents and that success fees must not exceed 5 percent of recovered assets.
Consequently, Nigerian Law firm was engaged on a transparent, all-inclusive 5 percent success fee basis, with no advance on account deposit. By this decision, Nigeria was saved at least 15 percent of the recovered assets when compared to Mr. Monfrini’s 20 percent demand, and as much as 35 percent when placed against his earlier proposals. Nigeria was also saved the upfront and unjustifiable $5 million deposit demanded by Mr. Monfrini.
At an average exchange rate of ₦1,600 to the dollar, a 15 percent saving on $320 million amounts to approximately ₦76.8 billion, while a 35 percent saving translates to about ₦179.2 billion. These are concrete, measurable benefits to the Nigerian state.
Accordingly, any claim or investigation suggesting abuse of office or money laundering in relation to the $322.5million is not rooted in any reasonable ground for suspicion. It is neither supported by facts nor by logic.
The constitutional discretion of the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation in matters of recovery of illicit funds is exercised strictly in the public interest and in the interest of justice. In the circumstances of this case, that discretion was exercised transparently and responsibly, saving Nigeria between 15 percent and 35 percent of the recovered assets and avoiding unlawful or unaccounted expenditures.
For avoidance of doubt, there were distinct tranches of Abacha loot recovered by Malami as Attorney General of the federation, namely:
The $322.5 million repatriated from Switzerland in 2017–2018 was deployed through the National Social Investment Programme, specifically Conditional Cash Transfers to the poorest Nigerians, which deployment was monitored by the world bank and civil society organizations out of commitment of the Buhari’s Government to entrench transparency and accountability.
Malami was again instrumental to the recovery of another trench of about $321 million repatriated in 2020 from the Island of Jersey, with United States and Swiss involvement, that was earmarked for major infrastructure projects including the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway, Abuja–Kano Road and the Second Niger Bridge, under project-based monitoring arrangements.
Any attempt to conflate these distinct recoveries or to portray a lawful, cost-saving recovery process as duplication is misleading.
I sincerely thank my friends, family members, political associates and followers across the country for their unwavering support, encouragement and confidence. I assure you that together we shall continue to stand firm, and together we shall triumph against every form of political witch-hunt and intimidation.
In conclusion, the allegations of money laundering and abuse of office concerning the $322.5 million Abacha loot remain baseless, illogical and entirely devoid of substance.
I remain confident that truth, law and reason will ultimately prevail
Signed: Mohammed Bello Doka. Special Assistant on Media
