ABUJA — Former Attorney‑General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has publicly rejected all insinuations linking him to terrorism financing and the operation of 46 bank accounts calling the allegations “false, misleading and politically motivated.
In a statement issued by his media aide, the former minister insisted that at no time has any security, regulatory or intelligence agency inside or outside Nigeria accused, summoned or investigated him on terrorism‑financing charges. The statement emphasized that the allegations lacked any official documentation or evidentiary basis.
Malami’s response surfaces as he spends a third night in custody under the scrutiny of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), after investigators imposed stringent bail conditions — including seizure of his international passport, daily reporting to EFCC headquarters, and presentation of two serving permanent secretaries as sureties.
He argues that the initial source for the claim a retired military officer never directly accused him of terrorism financing; rather, the source made vague references to alleged “business or institutional” links between some suspects and unnamed individuals. According to Malami, those comments were distorted amplified by media headlines and exploited by political opponents to craft a narrative of guilt by association.
Malami recalled his record in public office as evidence against the allegations, underscoring the reforms he championed aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s financial‑intelligence and anti‑terror‑financing architecture. These reforms included the establishment of an independent Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), and enactments such as the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 and the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, which contributed to Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) “grey list.
He cautioned against weaponising routine official engagements lawful professional or institutional contacts as grounds for implicating individuals in serious crimes such as terrorism financing. He called the expanded allegations, including claims about 46 bank accounts, “pure fabrications” rooted in a coordinated media smear campaign rather than facts.
Malami appealed to “right‑thinking Nigerians” to disregard what he described as orchestrated falsehoods, and reaffirmed his belief that truth, law and reason will prevail over politically driven narratives.
This confrontation once again spotlights the tense intersection of political rivalry, media reporting and national security discourse in Nigeria raising troubling questions about the standards of evidence, the responsibilities of security agencies, and the potential for reputational damage even without formal charges.