THE TRIAL OF MALAMI

 Two powerful ministers of the immediate past administration are under scrutiny, writes ISMA’IL KAMARU

Last week was a period of reckoning that many Nigerians believe was long overdue, as two of late President Muhammadu Buhari’s once-powerful ministers- Abubakar Malami, SAN, who presided over the Ministry of Justice, and Chris Ngige, who held sway at the Ministry of Labour and Employment, found themselves as honoured guests of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Once fixtures of the Buhari administration, they now grapple with a scrutiny unseen during their years in power.

 Both men are now facing a slew of corruption and economic crimes allegations. In Ngige’s case, court documents show that the EFCC has arraigned him on an eight-count charge over an alleged N2.26 billion fraud while he was supervising the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF). Among the counts, the anti-graft agency alleges that the former minister used his position to confer unfair advantage on firms linked to associates, awarding them consultancy, training, and supply contracts, and accepting monetary gifts through organisations bearing his name, including his campaign organisation and scholarship scheme. 

 For a man who spent years sparring with the Academic Staff Union of Universities and projecting himself as a stern defender of government integrity, this dramatic reversal has not gone unnoticed. Members of ASUU, already deeply hostile toward Ngige for his handling of labour relations during his tenure, have been particularly enthusiastic about the prospect of his EFCC ordeal. 

Yet, despite the uproar, Ngige has approached this crisis with the relative quietness of someone who understands the gravity of the moment and is prepared, at least publicly, to face it. In fact, beyond a clarification from his media aide dispelling bizarre rumours that he had been kidnapped prior to his EFCC appearance, Ngige has largely let the legal process play out. 

Malami, on the other hand, seems intent on choreographing an entirely different script where he casts himself as the perpetual victim hunted by invisible enemies. This is rather ridiculous considering that by now he is practically a regular figure at the EFCC, with investigators probing him over at least 18 alleged offenses that span money laundering, abuse of office, and terrorism financing. 

These matters are not trivial. Among the lines of inquiry, the EFCC is said to be questioning how Malami handled the recovery and accounting of about $346.2 million in Abacha loot repatriated from Switzerland and funds from the Island of Jersey, assets that have been mired in controversy regarding their rightful stewardship. 

 Beyond that, sources indicate that investigators are examining Malami’s role in the management of N4 billion from the Central Bank’s Anchor Borrowers’ Programme and a reported N10 billion investment in schools, hotels, and rice mills in Kebbi State, ventures that have raised eyebrows due to questions about funding sources and transparency.  

The EFCC has also been probing suspicious transactions and mega deals tied to his time in office, including a $496 million payment to Global Steel Holdings Ltd connected to the Ajaokuta Steel concession termination, and legal fees on Paris Club refunds that critics allege were irregular.  These are serious issues.

Both former ministers spent some time in the EFCC’s “cozy” detention facility, before being brought before a Federal High Court to enter their pleas. For Ngige, the process moved swiftly into arraignment, with the charges formally filed in court and his legal team engaging with the matter head-on.

 Still, the contrast in their comportment has been striking. While Ngige appears to have accepted his new reality with the steeliness of a man prepared to fight his battles quietly, Malami seems determined to drag everyone into his troubles. Through proxies and whispered briefings, he has pointed fingers in every direction, including Governor Nasir Idris of Kebbi State.

At this point, it feels like the only person Malami has not blamed is himself. It is ironic for someone who once carried the reputation, whether fairly or not, of being the most powerful attorney general in Nigeria’s history.  This is a man who led some of the country’s biggest corruption prosecutions, including high-profile cases involving former NSA Sambo Dasuki. 

There was a time when Malami stood at the epicentre of the nation’s justice machinery, guiding prosecutions that humbled political heavyweights. The contrast between that image and the one he projects now is jarring.

 But what is worse still is his seemingly cheap attempt to hide under the excuse of political persecution. Such suggestions have done little more than fuel speculation and make Malami appear as if he is trying to rewrite the narrative rather than answer the questions before the law.

Let me state this plainly: having studied Malami’s politics so far, the man can be accused of many things, but being a serious political threat is certainly not one of them. Even the oft-repeated claim that APC thugs have been unleashed on him, offered without evidence, has become a stale tune, heard too many times to command sympathy.

 Perhaps this gaslighting and sympathy-seeking might have worked in 2007, when Nigerians were still prone to falling for dramatic tales of persecution. But this is 2025. The public has been burned too many times to buy another politician’s story of tears and witch-hunt. Nigerians have seen enough to distinguish genuine harassment from convenient political melodrama, and they are no longer easily swayed by manufactured narratives that ignore facts.

 Kamaru writes from Birnin Kebbi