“Malami Stole More Than N270bn” – Maina Urges EFCC To Recover More Assets From Ex-AGF

Abdulrasheed Maina, the former head of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, said that the assets linked to Abubakar Malami, the former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF)  are much smaller than the amount he is accused of stealing.

Maina claimed that the recovered assets represent less than a quarter of the total allegedly misappropriated.

He disclosed this while receiving the Rule of Law and Courage Award from the Garki branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Abuja.

Maina stated that authorities have only uncovered a small portion of the funds and that more assets can still be retrieved from Malami.

He praised the current administration for handling the issue with transparency and respect for the law, contrasting it with the previous government led by the late President Muhammadu Buhari.

“Malami allegedly stole a lot of funds. What the government has seen so far is not even one quarter,” Maina said.

“We can recover these funds from Malami. There are more than what has been seen. What is 270 billion?

“Yes, the government is doing the right thing. There must be accountability, transparency and the rule of law, which is what I see the government doing as against what the last.”

Maina also shared a story from when he was abroad, claiming that top government officials including the late President Buhari, former finance minister Kemi Adeosun, former national security adviser Babagana Monguno, and Malami, traveled to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates to ask him to return to Nigeria.

He said he refused to come back and added that they even pressured his mother to convince him to return.

Maina explained that this effort was driven by information from former President Goodluck Jonathan, who told them Maina had helped recover N1.63 trillion during Jonathan’s administration.

Maina said this figure could be confirmed by former finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

“All these things happened during the last administration. I don’t believe this could happen in this administration. How could somebody come to Abu Dhabi?

“The late President Muhammadu Buhari was there, Kemi Adeosun was there, Babagana Monguno, former NSA, was there, and Abubakar Malami was there,” Maina said.

“They begged me, and I refused to come to Nigeria. They went back to Nigeria and made my mother insist that I come back to Nigeria because Jonathan had told them that I recovered 1.63 trillion during his time; this can be ascertained by Okonjo-Iweala and 227 properties.”

Malami is currently facing trial along with his wife and son over allegations of money laundering.

He was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and detained at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja.

On January 7, a federal high court in Abuja granted him bail of N500 million.

KanyiDaily recalls that the court ordered the interim forfeiture of 57 properties, worth over N212bn, allegedly linked to Abubakar Malami.