“This current EFCC Chairman has personal vendetta against me”, says Malami, wants him off his trial

*EFCC earlier denied being weaponised against opposition politicians

By OUR REPORTER

“Malami reiterates his insistence on immediate prosecution or release, demanding that a charge be filed and that he be arraigned before a court of competent jurisdiction within 24 hours, in strict compliance with Sections 35(3), (4), and (5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999, as amended).”

Former attorney General of the Federation)/Minister of Justice (AGF/MJ), Mallam Abubakar Malami (SAN), has called for the transfer of his alleged corruption case from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to any other government law enforcement agency, saying that the current EFCC Chairman, Mr. Olanipekun Olukoyede, has a personal vendetta against him.

Malami said Olukoyede is persecuting him because of the Justice Salami Report, which, according to him, indicted the EFCC Chairman who served as the Secretary of the Commission when the report was released.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who is protesting his detention by the EFCC, describing it as illegal, politically motivated, and driven by personal vendetta, while demanding that he should recuse himself from investigating him.

In a statement on Monday December 15, 2025 by his media aide, Mohammed Bello Doka, Malami described the EFCC’s actions against him as a “politically motivated witch-hunt,” which he said was triggered by his recent defection to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Malami alleged that the investigation and his continued detention were not driven by genuine law enforcement concerns but by “deep-seated historical animosity” involving the EFCC chairman.

He recalled that while he served as attorney-general, the Federal Government set up the Justice Ayo Salami Judicial Commission of Inquiry to probe allegations of corruption and abuse of office within the EFCC, during which the current EFCC chairman served as secretary.

According to Malami, the Salami report contained findings implicating the EFCC chairman, including recommendations that could have led to his prosecution.

He argued that the ongoing investigation against him “bears all the hallmarks of retaliatory persecution” motivated by personal revenge.

Malami said he had been pre-judged and could not receive a fair and impartial investigation under the current leadership of the anti-graft agency.

He therefore demanded that the EFCC chairman immediately withdraw from the case and that the matter be transferred to another appropriate law enforcement body to safeguard credibility and public confidence.

“Malami reiterates his insistence on immediate prosecution or release, demanding that a charge be filed and that he be arraigned before a court of competent jurisdiction within 24 hours, in strict compliance with Sections 35(3), (4), and (5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999, as amended).

“He has consistently maintained that only a court of competent jurisdiction, and not politically compromised agencies, can lawfully and credibly adjudicate this matter,” the statement added.

Malami also accused the EFCC of attempting to rely on individuals allegedly convicted by foreign courts and serving criminal sentences abroad as witnesses against him.

He described the move as an abuse of process and warned that it undermined the integrity of Nigeria’s criminal justice system.

Malami’s latest demands came amid his continued detention by the EFCC following his alleged failure to meet bail conditions imposed by the anti-graft agency.

The commission had earlier said the former attorney-general was granted administrative bail after a brief interrogation on November 28, 2025, pending the conclusion of investigations and possible arraignment in court.

According to the EFCC, the bail was provisional and subject to five conditions, none of which Malami allegedly fulfilled.

Earlier, the EFCC had dismissed claims that it is being weaponised against opposition politicians, insisting that its mandate is strictly to investigate and prosecute economic and financial crimes, regardless of political affiliation.

In a statement on Monday, the commission said allegations of persecution, politicisation, or erosion of its independence by political actors were deliberate misrepresentations of its constitutional responsibilities.

The commission argued that its operations were guided solely by its Establishment Act, which mandates it to investigate and prosecute all economic and financial crimes, except where suspects enjoy constitutional immunity.

The anti-graft agency said its record over the past two years showed that suspects from both the ruling party and opposition parties, including former governors and ministers, have been investigated and prosecuted, stressing that corruption “has no gender, religion, tribe, or political party.

“What the so-called opposition politicians are seeking to achieve in this assault against the EFCC is far from altruistic, but a veiled attempt to confer immunity from prosecution for alleged corruption on politicians who suddenly find themselves in the opposition. This gambit is alien to the Nigerian constitution and the enabling law of the Commission both of which compel mandatory action against any evidence of graft irrespective of the position and political inclinations of the accused.

“The Commission won’t succumb to blackmail or be railroaded into inconclusive investigations just to be seen to be non- selective in its operations,” it added.