Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has given a robust and fact-laden response to allegations surrounding the recovery of the Abacha loots, firmly establishing that his actions not only followed due process but saved Nigeria an enormous sum running into hundreds of billions of naira.
Malami confirmed that he honoured an invitation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on November 28, 2025, over claims of alleged duplication in the recovery of the $310 million Abacha loot, which grew with interest to about $322.5 million. According to him, the allegations of abuse of office and money laundering are baseless, illogical and unsupported by facts.
He explained that recovery of stolen public funds is only complete when such funds are physically lodged into the Federation Account. As of 2016, when the Buhari administration recommenced recovery efforts, no such funds had been paid into Nigeria’s account, meaning there was no completed recovery to duplicate. The claim of duplication, Malami noted, collapses under simple logic and documentary evidence.
More revealing, he said, was the fact that in December 2016, several lawyers, including Swiss lawyer Enrico Monfrini, applied to be engaged for the recovery of the same funds. This, Malami argued, contradicts claims that the recovery had already been completed years earlier.
He further disclosed that Mr. Monfrini demanded a $5 million upfront payment and a success fee of up to 40 percent of the recovered funds, later adjusted to 20 percent. These demands were rejected in line with the Buhari administration’s strict policy against advance payments and excessive success fees. Instead, a Nigerian law firm was engaged on a transparent 5 percent success-fee-only basis.
This single decision, Malami emphasized, translated into historic savings for Nigeria. Compared with the 20 percent fee proposed, Nigeria saved at least 15 percent of the recovered sum, and when placed against the initial 40 percent demand, the country saved as much as 35 percent. At an average exchange rate of ₦1,600 to the dollar, this amounts to savings ranging from ₦76.8 billion to an astonishing ₦179.2 billion, in addition to avoiding an unjustifiable upfront payment of $5 million.
Malami also clarified that multiple, distinct Abacha loot recoveries took place under his watch. The $322.5 million repatriated from Switzerland between 2017 and 2018 was deployed through the National Social Investment Programme, particularly Conditional Cash Transfers to the poorest Nigerians, under the monitoring of the World Bank and civil society groups. Another tranche of about $321 million, recovered in 2020 from the Island of Jersey with U.S. and Swiss cooperation, was earmarked for major infrastructure projects such as the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway, Abuja–Kano Road and the Second Niger Bridge.
He stressed that attempts to conflate these separate recoveries or portray a transparent, cost-saving process as wrongdoing are misleading and unfair.
Malami expressed deep appreciation to his friends, family members, political associates and supporters nationwide for their steadfast encouragement, assuring them of his resolve to withstand what he described as political witch-hunts and intimidation.
In the end, Malami remains confident that the facts will prevail, insisting that the Abacha loot recoveries carried out under his leadership were lawful, transparent and profoundly beneficial to Nigeria—saving the country up to ₦179 billion in the process.