On December 10, 2025, the economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested the former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN.
According to the Anti-graft agency, his arrest was as a result of his inability to meet the bail conditions granted to him.
WITHIN NIGERIA gathered that the Commission while confirming the development said that Malami was still in custody on Tuesday for failing to meet the bail requirement.
Our source revealed that the former minister has been asked by the anti-graft agency to clear himself of issues relating to money laundering, especially the operation of suspicious accounts.
The source further stated that” We have detained him over terrorism financing and the whereabouts of Abacha loot recovered from Switzerland and the Island of Jersey in the UK.
” He would remain in custody until he fulfils the requirements.
“We arrested him for not meeting his bail conditions, and he will remain in our custody until he meets those conditions.
“He is presently in our custody. He was initially granted bail but did not meet the conditions. The offences against him are many,” the EFCC source said.
The commission had asked the former minister to be appearing daily for interrogation through December.
” Presently, we are investigating him for 18 different offences. Some of them are money laundering, abuse of office and terrorism financing.
” We cannot put a figure to the amount involved now because we keep uncovering some of the deals as we investigate,” the source disclosed.
Malami had insisted that allegations against him were “fabricated”.
” For the avoidance of doubt, my public record in office stands in direct contradiction to any insinuation of complicity in terrorism financing.
” During my tenure as Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, I worked with other arms of government and relevant institutions to strengthen—not weaken—Nigeria’s legal and institutional framework against money laundering and the financing of terrorism,” he said.
The rise and rise of Abubakar Malami
Abubakar Malami was born on 17 April 1967.
Abubakar Malami, a Fulani Muslim, was born on 17 April 1967 in Birnin Kebbi, the capital of Kebbi state.
He began his early formal education at Nassarawa Primary School, Birnin Kebbi.
He then completed his secondary school completed his secondary school at College of Arts and Arabic Studies.
However, in 1991, he graduated from Usman Danfodio University, where he studied Law.
Malami was called to Bar in 1992. He also did his master’s degree in University of Maiduguri where he studied Public Administration in 1994.
In any case, after his graduation, he became a legal practitioner, serving in various capacities including being a state counsel and magistrate in Kebbi State, Nigeria.
Political career
Malami was the National Legal Adviser of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change, CPC.
By and large, in 2013, he was actively involved in the formation of the All-Progressives Congress (APC) as the resource person to the Manifesto Drafting Sub-Committee of Inter Joint Party Merger Committees between the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP.
In 2014, Abubakar contested for the governorship ticket of the All-Progressives Congress in Kebbi State but stepped down during the party primaries in favour of Atiku Bugudu.
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice
On 11 November 2015, Abubakar was appointed as Minister for Justice and Attorney-General of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, thus making him the youngest minister in Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet.
On 21 August 2019, he was re-appointed as the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation by then President Muhammadu Buhari.
As reported by Nelogram, Abubakar Malami published a tell-all memoir and autobiography which chronicled his tenure as the AGF of Nigeria. The title of the memoir is “Traversing the Thorny Terrain of Nigeria’s Justice Sector; My Travails and Triumphs”.
The beginning of Malami’s Travails and Attempts to remove SAN rank
In June 2019, Malami appeared before a disciplinary panel of the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee to face the petitioners seeking the stripping of his Senior Advocate of Nigeria rank for alleged misconduct.
The case was dismissed due to procedural issues on the part of the claimant.
In 2020 was resurrected as a lawyer, Izu Aniagu, submitted a new petition to the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee to remove Malami’s SAN rank. Aniagu’s petition, which received over 10,000 online signatures, was based on the claim that Malami unilaterally deleted certain provisions of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners in violation of the law.
Later in 2020, Aniagu accused the LPPC and Chief Justice Tanko Muhammad of purposeful inaction on his petition.
Oil asset auction
As a part of the dispute between Malami and then-EFCC Chairman Ibrahim Magu reports came out in July 2020 that Malami and Magu had clashed over and given conflicting orders on seized assets, notably when Malami authorised the auction of several sea vessels holding crude oil and diesel.
Malami directed Omoh-Jay Nigeria Ltd. to auction the vessels despite previous theft allegations against the company. Umar Gwandu, Malami’s spokesman, claimed that the auction was not illegal and Omo-Jay was innocent until proven guilty.
Gwandu later said that the auction allegation and other corruption allegations had “caused [Malami] considerable distress, psychological trauma, anxiety and greatly injured his character and reputation.”
Allegation of diversion of recovered money
As Malami’s travails continue to multiply, in May 2021, he appeared before a House committee to answer for suspected diversion of recovered laundered money intended for the consolidated revenue account along with other alleged improprieties. Malami and his office were accused of improperly funding the office budget with around ₦800 billion of recovered looted money by several Representatives including committee chair Adejori Adeogun.
However, the former Attorney general denied his office received any money from the recovered money account and the Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris supported Malami, claiming that the consolidated revenue account and recovered loot account are all subsets of the same Treasury Single Account making it appear as if the funds were transferred to the AGF office.
However, the next day, Adeogun and others continued questioning Malami, now about a reported illegal ₦2 billion payment from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN to Malami and an alleged request from Malami for “payment of approved solicitors’ fees” from the recovered loot account.
Malami denied requesting payments from the recovered loot account but did not comment on the ₦2 billion payment from the CBN.
Not yet over with his battles, in August 2021, the Attorneys-General of all 36 states sued Malami, accusing him of failure to allocate recovered funds to them and distribution of ₦3.2 billion.
EFCC charges Malami
On December 11, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said it has commenced compilation of charges against Abubakar Malami, over alleged misappropriation of funds.
It was learnt that Malami, who had been in the anti-graft agency’s detention since Monday, has already been granted bail by the commission but was yet to be released due ongoing verification of some documents submitted.
According to the Anti-graft agency “First, he has been granted an administrative bail but he’s with us because he’s yet to perfect his bail conditions. The documents he submitted for bail are still being scrutinised. Once that is done, he will go.
“Secondly, he would be arraigned in court as soon as we conclude our investigation. Charges are already being compiled against him. We’re not bittered. This is not persecution, we’re just doing our job,” the source said.
Several phones calls to the spokesman of the commission, Dele Oyewale, rang out. He was yet to reply to a text message sent to him as at when filing this report.
Terrorism financing link?
Nevertheless, in a statement, the former attorney-general said that as an officer responsible for upholding the law, he could not have acted as a lawbreaker.
Reacting to the allegations, Malami said that “My attention has been drawn to a recent publication in which my name was mentioned in connection with allegations of terrorism financing and so-called ‘links’ to persons described as terror suspects or alleged financiers.
“I consider it necessary, in the interest of truth, justice and public record, to make the following clarifications.
“First, I state clearly and unequivocally that I have never at any time been accused, invited, interrogated, investigated or charged by any security, law-enforcement, regulatory or intelligence agency—within or outside Nigeria—in respect of terrorism financing or any related offence,” he said.
He added, “Secondly, even the retired military officer cited as the principal source in the said publication categorically admitted that he was not accusing me, or other named individuals, of financing terrorism.
“His own account, as reported, was limited to a vague assertion that certain suspects allegedly had some form of ‘businesses or ‘institutional’ relationship with various persons.
“That important clarification was, unfortunately, overshadowed by a headline and framing capable of misleading well-meaning members of the public into drawing inaccurate and damaging conclusions which was unfortunately politically manipulated by my political opponents to create mischievous insinuations implying my involvement in terrorism financing.
“Terrorism financing is a grave crime with devastating consequences for national security and human life. Any attempt—whether by direct allegation or indirect innuendo—to associate an individual with such an offence must be grounded in verifiable facts, due process and lawful findings, not in conjecture, speculation, or guilt by association.
“To suggest that lawful professional or institutional engagements can, without more, be read as evidence of terrorism financing is both mischievous and unjust.”