Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has demanded the immediate recusal of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from an ongoing investigation involving him, alleging bias and political persecution.
Malami made the demand in a statement issued on Monday by his spokesman, Muhammad Doka, in which he accused the anti-graft agency of acting out of personal vendetta and linked the probe to his recent defection to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The former minister alleged illegal detention, media harassment, and procedural abuse by the EFCC, insisting that the investigation was not driven by legitimate law enforcement considerations but by “deep-seated historical animosity” within the agency’s leadership.
“I have been clearly prejudged and cannot receive a fair, objective, or lawful investigation under the current leadership of the EFCC,” Malami stated.
He anchored his claims on events dating back to his tenure as Attorney-General, when the Federal Government constituted the Justice Ayo Salami Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate allegations of corruption and abuse of office within the EFCC.
According to Malami, the current EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, served as Secretary to the commission, and the Salami Report—now in the public domain—contained adverse findings against him.
“The present investigation bears all the hallmarks of retaliatory persecution motivated by personal vengeance,” Malami alleged.
On this basis, he formally called on the EFCC Chairman to step aside from the matter and urged the Attorney-General of the Federation, as the nation’s Chief Law Officer, to intervene.
“To restore credibility and public confidence, another appropriate law enforcement agency must handle this matter,” he said, warning that failure to act could result in “serious institutional damage.”
Malami also demanded either his immediate arraignment or release within 24 hours, citing Sections 35(3), (4), and (5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). He stressed that only a court of competent jurisdiction, not what he described as a politically compromised agency, could lawfully and credibly determine the matter.
Raising further concerns, the former AGF accused the EFCC of attempting to rely on individuals convicted by foreign courts and currently serving criminal sentences abroad as potential witnesses. He described such a move as “desperate, scandalous, and corrosive to the integrity of Nigeria’s criminal justice system,” arguing that such individuals should ordinarily be subjects of extradition rather than prosecution witnesses.
The statement added that Malami’s legal team has initiated formal steps to protect his rights, including requests for Certified True Copies of the petitions that prompted the investigation, as well as the EFCC’s investigation report, to enable him prepare his defence.
“Let it be stated clearly: I seek no political settlement or inducement,” Malami said. “My singular objective is to clear my name openly and transparently before a court of competent jurisdiction. Nigeria must not become a republic where anti-corruption agencies are tools of political intimidation. The law must remain supreme—above politics, above power, and above persons.”
