Former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami SAN, has rejected allegations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the so called duplication of the $310 million Abacha loot, describing the claims as “baseless, illogical and wholly devoid of substance.”
Malami made the clarification following an EFCC invitation on November 28, 2025, which the commission said related to the alleged duplication in the recovery of the Abacha funds, which, with accrued interest, rose to about $322.5 million. The EFCC also raised allegations of abuse of office and money laundering.
In a statement issued through his media aide, Malami said the EFCC’s narrative that the recovery had already been completed by Swiss lawyer Enrico Monfrini before his assumption of office in 2015 is “entirely illogical.”
“The recovery of illicit funds can only be legally said to be completed upon actual lodgement into the Federation Account. As at 2016, when the Buhari administration initiated the process, no such lodgement had been made. There was therefore no completed recovery to duplicate,” he said.
Malami further explained that several lawyers, including Monfrini, applied in December 2016 to be engaged for the recovery of the same funds, which contradicts claims that the process had already concluded. He added that Monfrini demanded a $5 million upfront deposit and a 40 percent success fee, which was later reduced to 20 percent, but rejected in line with government policy.
According to Malami, the Nigerian law firm eventually engaged operated on a transparent, all inclusive five percent success fee, saving the country between 15 and 35 percent of the recovered assets—equivalent to ₦76.8 billion to ₦179.2 billion.
He said the recovered $322.5 million was deployed through the National Social Investment Programme, including Conditional Cash Transfers, monitored by the World Bank and civil society organizations. Another tranche of approximately $321 million was recovered in 2020 from Jersey, earmarked for major infrastructure projects such as the Lagos Ibadan Expressway, Abuja Kano Road, and the Second Niger Bridge.
Malami emphasized that any attempt to portray these lawful, cost saving recovery processes as duplication is misleading. He thanked his supporters, associates, and followers for their encouragement and reaffirmed confidence that truth, law, and reason would prevail.
He concluded: “The allegations of money laundering and abuse of office concerning the $322.5 million Abacha loot remain baseless, illogical, and entirely devoid of substance.”
