$499m Abacha loot probe: Malami faces EFCC panel daily in December

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says former Attorney‑General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, will face a team of interrogators at its office daily throughout December.
A credible source in the EFCC said on Monday that the daily appearance was part of an ongoing investigation into the whereabouts of an alleged 490 million dollars Abacha loot secured through a Mutual Legal Assistance (MLAT) request.

The source said that Malami, who was summoned for interrogation by the EFCC on Saturday, was barred from leaving Nigeria for the next one month.

According to the source, one of the conditions for his release on Saturday was that he should report daily to the EFCC Headquarters in Abuja for further interrogation.

The source said Malami would have to appear daily at the anti-graft office due to the volume of the investigation and the seriousness of the charges against him.

”We seized his passport, it is the normal routine during investigation, but he has to report at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja every day for the next month.

”He will be reporting for further investigation throughout December.

”He will be reporting every day, starting from Dec. 1st to Dec. 31st.
He will appear before the team of investigators for the entire month of December.

”He will be reporting to EFCC for investigation for the period because of the volume of the investigation and the seriousness of the charges against him,” the source added.

According to the source,  a fact sheet on the former minister revealed that Malami had several issues to clarify with the EFCC within the coming weeks.

“We have asked him to explain the whereabouts of the $490 million Abacha loot secured through MLAT.

“We didn’t say he stole money, but he should account for the loot. This is one of the issues he will clarify to our investigators.”

The commission cited the large volume of documents he must review and the need for extensive interviews as reasons for seizing his passport.

The source said EFCC  would not engage in a war of words but would release its findings after a thorough investigation.

Malami, in a statement by his media aide, Mohammed Doka, on Monday in Abuja, however, described the EFCC investigation as a political witch‑hunt.

He confirmed he honored an EFCC invitation on Nov. 28, describing the engagement as fruitful and expressing confidence that the probe would vindicate him.

Malami described the EFCC’s allegations as baseless, illogical and devoid of substance, insisting they collapse under factual scrutiny.